Reunion
by Card1na15
Summary: It's been twenty years since Clark and Lana graduated from Smallville High, and it's time for a class reunion. Clark hasn't been back to town in years, while Lana never left. What can happen in three days? Read and find out.
1. Chapter 1

A bit of setup is required for this fic. It was started after the events of "Reckoning" and was finished before "Hypnotic." Clark and Lana did break up at the same time as they did in "Hypnotic." Nothing that happened after "Hypnotic" happened in this world.

Thank you for reading. Please post reviews.

Chapter 1

Going Home

**Early Thursday morning - Halfway between Metropolis and Smallville**

Whoever said, 'You can't go home again,' was right, but that person never tried talking Perry White out of a story assignment. So Clark Kent was driving down Interstate 70 toward his hometown of Smallville, Kansas, wondering how he had gotten into this mess. He hadn't visited Smallville since his mother died, and _had_ vowed to never return. Too many memories, too much pain. Everything there reminded him of someone…Mom, Dad, Chloe, Pete, and most of all, Lana.

Even _thinking _her name was a brand on his heart and he winced from the pain of remembrance.

Yet, faithful employee that he was, his suitcases were in the trunk with a garment bag draped over the top. His one solace was that Lois was on vacation this week. He thanked God profusely for small mercies. The humiliation of being assigned to write a fluff piece on his own high school twenty-year reunion was bad enough without her being in Metropolis to rub it in. Lois had always owned a supernatural talent for getting under his skin, even during the brief time they'd tried dating.

How did this happen, you ask? How did a Kerth award winner like Clark end up doing a human interest story instead of his forte, investigative reporting? True beginnings are hard to uncover, but it might have started when Perry got an official-looking envelope in the mail.

**The previous Tuesday afternoon - Perry White's Office**

"Kent," Perry bellowed, "get in here. I've got your next assignment for you."

Seconds later, Clark Kent strolled through the open door, and said, "What's up, Chief? Got a lead on a government corruption scandal that you need me run down?"

Clark started to close the door, when Perry said, "Don't worry about it, Kent, this story won't require any secrecy."

Easing his way into a chair upholstered with brown leather, Clark noticed Perry was holding a letter. It was definitely expensive paper, not the kind you would expect to be used by the crackpots who normally write to the editor to complain about everything from the price of gas to what is on the lunch menu at the public schools. _Like Perry controls any of that anyway_, Clark thought.

"Whatcha got there?" Clark asked.

Holding the paper up, Perry said, "This? This is an invitation…an invitation for _you _to attend your high school reunion. According to this piece of paper, this will be your twenty-year reunion."

"How'd you get that, Perry? I received my copy two weeks ago and sent back a reply that said I wasn't going to be able to attend this year."

"Oh, but you _are _going to be able to go, Kent. Attending your reunion is your new assignment. I want you to attend the whole thing, from the Friday evening barbeque to the Saturday afternoon picnic to the formal dinner on Sunday night. When you come back, I expect you to have a heart-warming account of your reunion all typed up and ready to print."

"But, Chief…" Clark started to say, before Perry cut him off with a curt, "This is not a discussion, Kent. This is an _order_. Take the rest of the week off so you'll be ready to go. I've already accepted in your name."

"Yes, Sir," Clark said, as he turned for the door.

"One more thing, Kent." Clark looked over his shoulder and wondered what else the old bast…old _man _could want now. "If you don't go to this reunion, don't worry about coming back in next Monday."

Clark was red-faced with a combination of anger and shame as he collected his black wool overcoat and black leather briefcase and headed for the elevator. He went five floors down and then switched to an express elevator which took him to the ground floor. Clark strode out of the lobby and into the Metropolis sunshine where he hailed a cab.

As the cab pulled away from the curb, Perry was up in his office, wondering what he was supposed to do with a piece of crap like a story about a reunion. He might actually end up having to print the stupid article just to cover his ass. But, in return, he would have a U.S. Representative that owed him a very large favor.

Reaching his apartment, a spacious three-bedroom affair, Clark changed out of his clothes and showered, thinking all the while about Smallville, about how he never wanted to go back, and about who he might meet.

Her.

Trying to take his mind off this forced walk down memory lane, Clark waited for nightfall, donned his Superman outfit, and patrolled the skies of Metropolis. Any miscreant out tonight was likely to be on the receiving end of some pent up frustration, but other than a couple of muggings he was able to stop, not much offered itself to relieve his stress.

The next day was Wednesday and he spent it washing clothes, shining his best Ferragamo shoes, and packing a suitcase and a garment bag. Not knowing exactly what he would need for three days in Smallville, Clark packed a lot, eventually necessitating a second suitcase. He was about to turn in for the night when his phone rang. Upon picking it up and saying hello, a voice he had not heard in years said, "Hey, Clark! What's up?"

An involuntary grin spread across his face as he realized he was not dreaming. "Pete? Pete _Ross? _To what do I owe the great and unexpected pleasure of a personal phone call from a member of the House of Representatives?"

"I'm just calling to see why you aren't coming to Smallville for the class reunion," Pete replied. "You didn't come to the ten-year or fifteen-year reunions, but I was _sure _you'd make it to this one."

"Well, Mr. Representative, I haven't been back to Smallville since the last time I saw you, at Mom's funeral." Clark's eyes closed and his head turned back and forth in agitation, as he said, "It's too hard. My parents and one of my closest friends are buried there, and you and…and _someone else_ almost joined them a time or two."

"It's not your fault, Clark. People are responsible for their own actions."

"My fault or not," Clark said, "someone has changed my plans for me. I'm being forced to attend the reunion. Apparently, word of my belated acceptance has not made the rounds yet."

"I'd like to say I'm sorry, but I'd be lying…hey, I know, how'd you like to meet tomorrow, a day early, to talk about old times. The last two times I've seen you have been on less than happy occasions and we never got a chance to talk."

"Okay, Pete, talking with you will be the one part of this trip to which I'm looking forward. Where do you want to meet?"

"How about the Talon, at noon?" Pete asked.

Clark lowered himself into a leather recliner, and said, "It's still open? I figured after Lex died, that would've closed down."

"Nope, it's still open and it's still a coffee house. Someone bought it from Luthor Corp after Lex died and kept it pretty much the way it always was."

"That'll be okay then," Clark said, "as long as…oh, I don't know how to say this, as long as…"

"As long as Lana doesn't work there anymore?"

"Yeah. That's what I was trying to say."

"Don't worry, Clark," Pete said, "she's the art teacher at Smallville High now. I seriously doubt she'll be at the Talon at noon on a school day."

"That sounds fine to me then. The Talon at noon it is."

**Thursday morning - Smallville**

Clark had taken a room at a local hotel whose main feature was that it was located as far from the old Kent Farm as he could get. He still didn't know who had bought the farm from his mother when she sold the place, or even if it was still a farm

Once his belongings were stored in his room, he climbed back into his Audi A8 and headed for the Talon. Clark was a few minutes early, having broken himself of the habitual lateness of his youth due to his need, as a reporter, to be on time for interviews.

Clark was already seated at a table in the back with a triple espresso before Pete wandered in the door. Being that Pete was a politician, Clark should have anticipated his need to make an entrance. While Clark was still in the white t-shirt and jeans he had worn to drive, Pete was nattily attired in a gray summer-weight suit with a red power tie. Clark nearly leapt out of his chair and the two old friends shared a bone-crunching hug.

As they separated, Pete dabbed at his eyes with a linen handkerchief and said, "Damn, Son. Watch it with the extra-strength hug. You almost made me cry."

"Sorry," Clark said. He sat back down and surreptitiously picked a napkin up off the table and began to dab at his eyes. "I don't know why _I'm_ crying, 'cause I know girls that hug harder than you do."

Pete signaled for a waitress and ordered a plain, black coffee before returning his attention to Clark. "I'll be damned if it's not good to see you, Clark. You are a sight for sore eyes."

"I'm glad to see you and I'm even more glad you were the first person I ran into, Pete. You're the only person left alive who knows me. Knows the _real_ me, that is."

"You mean you never told…?"

"Lana?" Clark asked.

"Yeah."

Looking down at the tabletop, Clark whispered, "I told her once and she died within a day."

Pete was stunned, and said, "Umm…Clark, you want to run that by me one more time?"

Pete's coffee was delivered, he paid, and Clark said, "Let's go for a walk. As the only one alive who will believe me, do I ever have a story to tell you."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Memories

**Thursday just after noon - The Talon**

Pete and Clark made their way out of the Talon and out onto the sidewalk. As they strolled along, Pete waited patiently for Clark to collect this thoughts.

_This has **got** to be the mother lode of all Clark stories, _Pete thought. _I mean, he said Lana died and he **never **jokes around about Lana…at least he didn't when we were in school together. _

They had walked past several businesses before Clark asked, "How much did anyone tell you about what happened during senior year at Smallville High?"

"Chloe was…_gone _before I came back to Smallville to live," Pete said, "otherwise, I'd know the details of senior year, chapter _and _verse. While that year is not Lana's favorite subject, she _did_ talk about someone I know who led the football team to a state championship that year, even though he'd never so much as been on the team before that season." Looking over at Clark, Pete asked, "How'd you talk your dad into that anyway?"

"Football? I joined the team first and told him about it later. As they say, 'It is easier to ask forgiveness than it is to gain permission.'"

"Who signed your permission slip?"

Clark shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably, and said, "I did."

"Clark Kent, defender of truth and justice, the kid that wouldn't let me copy off of his tests in class, _forged _his dad's signature? Oh man! Did I _ever_ miss out senior year!"

"There's a lot of things you missed out on, like: thinking Chloe was dead all summer long, Lana moving to Paris to study art, and me spending my summer vacation with Jor-El. All that was before school even started in the fall."

Pete stopped in his tracks, a look of amazement on his face. A couple of steps further up the sidewalk, Clark stopped, turned back to his friend, and waited. When Pete's mental gears slipped back into place, he said, "Lana, as a storyteller, leaves a _lot _to be desired…but, what does any of this have to do with Lana dying?"

"It doesn't, really, I just got sidetracked by the football question. What does relate to her dying is that near the end of senior year, just after prom, Lana and I started dating, _really_ dating, for the first time…"

"All right!" Pete said. "My man finally got his schwerve on!"

Clark could not help but smile as Pete Ross, Congressman from the 6th District in Kansas morphed into Pete Ross, teenager. Clark waited for Pete's enthusiasm to run its course before continuing, "…and as we got closer, Lana still wanted the answers to the questions she'd been asking ever since I saved her from the tornado."

"Oh man, talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place!"

"Yeah." Clark threw his empty coffee cup in a public trash can, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and said, "I'd always worried about her reaction. How would she take the news? That's why I never told her; I thought I would lose her if I came clean." Clark pulled one hand out of his pocket and ran it through his hair. "When it became clear that I was going to lose her if I _didn't _tell her, that made my choice for me…I went for it."

"What did she say? Did you ambush her with it like you did me?"

Clark and Pete crossed the street and headed back in the direction of the Talon before Clark answered. "I was in the second semester at Central Kansas A&M, during freshman year, and we'd been having some problems in our relationship for a while. It was January, and I invited her over to the loft, preparatory to going over to the caves. When she showed up, I told her everything. I showed her the caves, including a secret room you hadn't seen yet, and used a transportation device to send us to my Fortress of Solitude in the arctic." Clark snuck a look at Pete to see how he was taking all of this. "Come to think of it, that's something else you haven't seen…man, you _did _miss a lot senior year. Remind me and I'll take you for a visit sometime."

"Wait, you mean to tell me you found this secret room in the caves and this secret hideaway…wherever it is…all during senior year?"

"Yeah. What else exciting happened that year?" Clark stopped and put his chin in his right hand and braced his right elbow with his left hand as he pretended to think deeply. "I know. I visited China with Lana to chase after her boyfriend and Lex on a Luthor Corp jet supplied by Lionel Luthor, of all people, all to find a Kryptonian crystal of knowledge. Also, I met Chloe's obnoxious cousin Lois, who's now my writing partner at the Planet. Alicia came back from Belle Reve and I dated her for a brief time before she was murdered, but before she died, she arranged for Chloe to see me use my abilities. Finally, in a development even you might have a hard time swallowing, Lana was possessed by the spirit of a 16th century French witch."

After trying to absorb this onslaught of information, Pete asked, "You don't know _how_ to parcel out big surprises in small, easily digestible portions, do you?" Shaking his head in rueful amazement, Pete said, "You aren't even back in town for a _day, _and this place is back to being Weirdo Central. I'm not even sure which part of that list of impossibilities to respond to first."

Clark held up a hand in caution and said, "Don't. I have to finish my story and if you start in on the other stuff, I'll never get to." The two friends went back to walking down the sidewalk before Clark said, "Anyway. Once I got Lana to the Fortress, I told her I was from another planet. Then, right in front of her eyes, I created a diamond engagement ring, got down on my knee, and proposed."

"What did she say?"

"About what?"

"About _all_ of it you numbskull!" Pete said. "You dropped an H-Bomb of a story on her and followed it up with a marriage proposal. Those are two life-altering events, back-to-back. I want to know about everything!"

"I told her I didn't want her to say anything right then, because I had laid too much on her all at once and she needed time to think about it. Later that day, she came to meet me at the house before we went to Dad's watch party at the Talon. She wasn't supposed to be there because we were _going_ to meet at the Talon, but she wanted to tell me her decision without crowds of people around."

Thoughts of that sublime moment nineteen years later, _still _had the power to make Clark smile, and smile he did.

"That was the best moment of my life, Pete. Nothing before or since can possibly compare to the moment I heard Lana say she would marry me. To know that she knew everything there was to know about me and still accepted me, still _loved _me…"

Clark basked in the warmth of that memory until tears began to trickle down his cheeks as thoughts of what were collided with dreams of what might have been. "We would have been the best couple, Pete. At that moment, everything I had belonged to her. Every hope, every dream…all I ever wanted to be had been laid at her feet."

A few sniffles issued forth as Clark tried to regain his emotional balance. "We went to the party and had just watched a local newscaster announce Dad's victory when Lana got a call. Lex was drunk and angry over losing to Dad, so she went out to the mansion to see how he was doing. He saw the engagement ring and tumbled to the fact that Lana knew all about me. She drove away from him, but he chased her and distracted her, right into the path of an oncoming school bus. I was on the phone with her when it happened, and could hear the crunch of metal. I ran like never before, Pete, and was at the accident site in seconds but it was too late. Lana had been thrown from her SUV. She was lying on the highway with a pool of blood surrounding her body. She was dead."

His tears started in earnest now, rolling down his face like a river at flood stage, and sobs were coming uncontrollably from his mouth. Pete wrapped his old friend in a bearhug and waited. The sidewalks were mostly empty at this time of day and whatever people were out gave Clark and Pete a wide berth.

When Pete finally relaxed his hold, they went back to walking, and Clark continued his story, saying, "I went to the Fortress and _begged _Jor-El to let me fix it. I knew there _had _to be a way to go back and keep her safe. Jor-El showed me how to go back in time, just one day back, so I'd be able to set things right.

"This time, instead of telling Lana everything, I turned her away, sure that if she didn't learn about me, Lex would never chase after her and she wouldn't die in the wreck. But, despite me sacrificing our relationship, it almost happened _again_. Lana visited Lex that night, and something happened. She ran from him and he chased after her just as before. Knowing what was about to happen, I managed to get to the bus just in time to slow it. Lana barely missed being smashed. In that moment, it was all worth it. It had worked! Lana was safe. Giving up our life together was a small price for me to pay to keep her safe."

Pete wondered how to phrase the question that was percolating in his mind. "Umm…Clark?" Pete asked. "Why didn't you just go back in time, tell her everything, and then stop the wreck? That way, you could have saved Lana and maintained your relationship at the same time."

"I wasn't just saving Lana from that danger, Pete. I was saving her from _every _future danger that might come to her from knowing my secret. You, of all people, ought to know the risks involved with keeping my secret. You almost died twice. How much more danger would my _wife _have been in?"

"No one's after you _now_, are they?"

"No. With the Luthors dead and me being able to use my abilities as, well…I assume you know about Superman?"

"Oh yeah," Pete said, "that grease you put in your hair couldn't fool me."

"Well, with me being able to use my abilities as Superman, no one pays any attention to mild-mannered Clark Kent, so I get a free ride these days."

"Everyone loves Supes. They think you're the best."

"I hope they do, Pete. I hope they do." Clark kicked at a pebble on the sidewalk, and said, "Given what that spandex-wearing do-gooder has cost me, someone _better_ be enjoying the show."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I've been Superman for the better part of twelve years now and I'm _tired. _Tired of the twenty-hour workdays between the Planet and being Superman. Tired of people who have come to expect me to be there for them like I _owe _it to them. Tired of coming home to a beautiful apartment, full of the best furnishings and empty of the one thing I want, the one thing I _need." _

"And that is…?" Pete asked.

"Someone to share my life with, someone who wants to knows the little details of the _Clark_ side of my life, someone who likes and admires Superman, but loves Clark Kent with all of her heart. What I _need_, Pete, is _love_."

Suddenly feeling crowded on the city sidewalk as they wandered back to the vicinity of the Talon, Clark said, "Let's go drive somewhere, Pete. I need to get out of here for a while."

"Sure, no problem. You'll have to drive, though. My wife dropped me off in the hopes I'd be able to talk you into joining us for dinner." Scanning the vehicles lining the sides of the street, Pete asked, "Which truck is yours?"

Clark grinned as he reached into his pocket for the key fob. He pressed the button for auto-start and watched Pete's face as the black Audi A8 rumbled to life. "The Audi's mine."

Pete let out a low whistle of appreciation and said, "Proof positive that you've changed."

"A little bit, but not where it counts." Tapping his chest, Clark said, "In here, I'm still the Clark you remember."

The two friends drove off together and spent the rest of the day, and well into the evening, catching up on each other's life, trying to make up twenty-years' separation in one night's time.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Meeting

**Friday - Early morning**

Having plenty of time to kill before the early evening start of the barbeque at Ezra Small Park, Clark spent the morning touring his hometown to see what had changed in the years he'd been gone.

The high school was now in a larger, more modern building and the old high school building now housed the middle school. The field where Clark had made his name as a football player was now where 13 and 14-year-olds took their first steps on the road to glory.

Cruising around town, Clark found that the city limits had expanded greatly over the years. So much so, that he wondered how long it would take before his parents' old farm was _in_ the city instead of well outside it. The population, which had been listed as 45,000 when he was in high school, had grown rapidly and was now just short of 60,000 thanks, in part, to a major facility expansion by Luthor Corp. New housing subdivisions had sprung up all over, filling what had once been cornfields with a new kind of crop…families.

Out of curiosity, Clark headed out to the Luthor Mansion and found the gates barred. A notice attached to the gates said the estate was for sale by Luthor Corp and that serious inquiries could be made at the offices of the local Coldwell Banker agency.

Clark smiled to himself and thought, _It'll be a cold day in hell before anyone around here buys this monstrosity._ _I'll bet the price on this place is at __**least**__ 10 million dollars._

Not really paying attention where he was going, Clark finally found himself in the general vicinity of the old Kent Farm despite his original intention to avoid his childhood home. Once he realized where he was, however, he was unable to stop himself from driving by Lana's old house. He pulled his now dusty Audi over to the side of the road and stared for a minute at the second floor window that used to be Lana's. _Things were simpler when all I had to worry about was how to get the girl of my dreams to notice me, and now…_

Clark shook his head and pulled back onto the road, making the turn down Hickory Lane toward his old home. As the familiar barn and yellow house came into view, Clark's focus on the house and grounds precluded the chance he might read the name on the mailbox. The grounds were immaculately kept, with a profusion of spring flowers in neat flowerbeds surrounding the house.

The land that had been for grazing and crops, however, had been turned into just another cookie-cutter subdivision, the kind where the only way to tell the houses apart was by the addresses attached to each house and stenciled on the street-side curbs. _Well, that answers one question, _Clark thought._ This is definitely not a farm anymore, just someone's home. I hope they love it like I did._

Looking back one more time at his house before driving off, he was glad that whoever owned it now had taken a special joy from keeping the house beautiful. _If Mom drove up right now, _he thought, _she'd not be able to tell she hadn't lived here in years._ Clark changed his mind about leaving and, instead, drove up to the house to thank the owners for preserving the house's special character.

_They'll think I'm nuts, but things like this are important to me these days. This house still looks like a **home**, much more so than the cold, impersonal apartment I live in now. _

Climbing the worn treads leading to the back door, Clark knocked sharply on the door frame and waited. When no one answered, he quickly x-rayed the house to be sure no one was home and then pulled out a pen and his ever-present notepad to leave a short note.

_Dear Homeowner,_

_I used to live in this house from the time I was three years old until I moved away after college. Today is my first glimpse of the place since my mother sold the farm after I left._

_I just wanted to thank you for the meticulous way you have taken care of this wonderful house. Even though I no longer live here, it still looks more like a home than anything I will ever find in Metropolis._

_Here's hoping you love this house at least half as much as I do._

_Respectfully Yours, _

_Clark Kent_

Having seen everything from the 'new' windmill in Chandler's Field, to the sprawling expanse of the Luthor Corp complex, to the modestly-sized shopping mall that was built just a few years back, Clark ate a lunch of take-out Chinese before changing clothes and heading out to Crater Lake for a swim.

**Friday afternoon - Smallville High**

Lana looked up at the clock and swore under her breath when she noticed the time was _still _closer to 2 p.m. than it was to 3 p.m.

"What was that, Ms. Lang?" asked a nearby student.

Lana flushed in embarrassment, and said airily, "Oh nothing. Just checking the time." _Is this school day __**ever **__going to be over? Apparently not any time soon._

Lana's art students were sitting in a circle surrounding a still-life arrangement that everyone was sketching. She flitted from student to student, giving only the most cursory of glances at each student's efforts, when normally, she would painstakingly assess their work.

The longer the class dragged on, the more frequent Lana's glances at the clock became, until nearly everyone noticed that their teacher was more anxious to leave today than they were.

Finally, with five minutes until the bell rang, Lana clapped her hands and told her students to stop sketching, cleanup their areas, and turn in their efforts for grading.

By the time the bell rang, Lana had a haphazard stack of paper on the corner of her desk. As she began to neaten the stack, one student who had stayed behind cleared her throat and waited for Lana to take notice.

Lana looked up and asked, "Yes, Jean, is there something I can do for you?"

"Well, not _really." _Jean said. "I was just wondering what's got you in such a tizzy, Ms. Lang. You normally hound us while we're working, making little suggestions on technique or whatnot, but today…"

"But today is something special, Jean. Did you know I graduated from Smallville High?"

"No ma'am."

"Well I did," Lana said, "and my class, the Class of 2005, is starting a three-day-weekend of activities to celebrate our twenty-year anniversary."

"Really? _Cool!" _Jean turned for the door and was about to leave when a peculiar thought struck her. She turned back to Lana once more, and said, "Still, if your class was like the kids that graduated with my brother and sister, then many of them probably stayed in this area, so you'd get to see them on a somewhat regular basis. Why are you so excited about a class reunion? Is this the first one you've ever gone to?"

"I don't see that it's any of your _business_, but no, it's not my first one. I've been to the ten-year and fifteen-year reunions, too."

Jean's smiled widened perceptibly as she said, "Oh, I get it now! You're excited about a particular _someone _coming back to town. Say no more, Ms. Lang. Your secret is safe with me." Then, easing her way out of the room, Jane tossed her last comment back over her shoulder, saying, "Well, whoever he is, Ms. Lang, I'm sure you'll knock him dead."

Looking ruefully at the door as Jane closed it carefully behind her, Lana wondered just how obvious her excitement had been to get noticed. _Now that I know Clark is going to be there tonight, I __**can't**__ let him see me looking like some moonstruck schoolgirl. No! I've got to get control of myself. I'm __**not**__ messing this up. _

Lana went back to straightening the papers, but decided to leave grading them for Monday before class. Turning off the lights and locking the classroom door, Lana rapidly made her way to the teachers' parking lot, the only sounds she made were the sharp _click-click-click _of her heels on the polished tile flooring in the halls.

Lana opened the door of her Ford F-350 pickup. The incongruity of being such a little woman in such a big truck had never failed to amuse her or the people who knew her, but only Lana knew why she insisted on owning such a huge truck. Her only concession to her lack of size was having had a motorized step installed under the running board on the driver's side.

Driving through town on her way home, Lana passed by the Talon. Knowing the role she'd had in preserving that building always brought a satisfied smile to her face, but today, her daily drive by the Talon brought her something else as well. Coming out the front door, with a large cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper and keys in the other, was the Greek god known as Clark Kent.

She was driving slowly enough to note that he was wearing a close-fitting t-shirt, mid-thigh swim trunks, and flip-flops. _Normally, _Lana thought, _identifying a long-lost classmate on the basis of a quick glance would be a chancy proposition at __**best**__, but there are only so many men that look like Clark…strike that, there's __**no one **__that looks like Clark. At least, none that would be in Smallville._

Lana concentrated so hard on Clark that she lost focus on her driving and nearly headed off the road. Only a panicked, last-second application of the brakes kept her truck from joining the pedestrians on the sidewalk. _Jeez, Lana, _she thought, _that was a little too close._

Clark heard a squeal of brakes as he headed out of the Talon and looked up in time to see a maroon Ford pickup that had just passed by him almost drive off the street. _How some people get a driver's license is beyond me, _he thought as he piled into his Audi for the short drive to his hotel.

Minutes later, Lana came to a stop at her house, a yellow-painted farmhouse just outside of town. Locking her truck and stepping down from the cab, Lana made her way to the back door that led into the kitchen. There, wedged into a crack between the door and the doorframe, was a small piece of notepaper. Picking it up, Lana entered the house and plopped her purse down on the kitchen table before unfolding the note and reading.

Lana read the note twice before she said softly, "Oh, Clark. How could I do anything else with this amazing house? I hope I get a chance to show you what I've done with the loft someday."

Two hours later, Clark met Pete, and Pete's wife Charisse, at the Ross' house and they rode over together in Pete's shiny new silver Cadillac STS. Charisse was someone Pete had met in college at K-State. They had married during senior year and had been together ever since.

Seeing them so happy together only made Clark feel more empty in comparison. All of his time and effort had gone to _other_ people and _their_ needs, leaving nothing for himself. What had been building in his mind for sometime was the idea that he needed to put himself first for a change, that Superman was a nice hobby, but that he needed to find a _life._

Pete pulled into the parking lot at Ezra Small Park and the three of them headed for the check-in table. As they checked in, each member of the party received a sticky name tag of the, 'Hello, may name is:' variety. Clark wrote his name in bold, broad strokes and patted the name tag into place on his chest and picked up a name plate with a seat location on it. Comparing their name plates, Clark and the Rosses found they weren't seated together, so Clark went to place his name plate at his seat before beginning to mingle with his classmates. The tables were laid out in a logical manner and it was only a matter of a minute for him to find his seat. What else he found along with his seat took his breath away.

Her.

Lana.

At the seat right next to his.

A quick check confirmed Clark's sudden suspicion. The seating was done alphabetically, which did place Lang, Lana right after Kent, Clark. The only good to come from this was the confirmation that Lana was still _Lang _and not some other name. He'd been too afraid to ask Pete, sure that by now someone worthy would have won her heart.

Lana was standing behind her chair chatting with a couple of friends as Clark approached. She turned his way, held out her hand to him, flashed him her brightest smile, and said, "Hi, Clark. It's been a long time."

Clark wrapped her fingers in his as he bowed over her hand and placed the lightest of kisses on her knuckles. Straightening up once again, Clark, whose eyes had yet to leave Lana's, said, "Too long. For that, and a good many other things, I am sorry."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Honesty

**Friday - Evening, at the barbecue**

"Don't be sorry, Clark, the past…is _history,_" Lana said, as she pulled her hand out of his grip. "The only thing about the past we need concern ourselves with is recognizing our mistakes, so we don't make them again."

Lana's hands pressed against Clark's abs and slowly crept their way up his chest, tracing the well-defined ridges and valleys of his muscles. "_Someone's _been working out since he left Smallville. I like a man that takes care of himself, Clark."

Lana finally ended what Clark could only describe as exquisite torture by locking her hands together behind his neck and pulling him down for a kiss. Clark's eyes closed as her lips approached. **KISS **_Oh, God, this is bliss, _he thought, and that was his last thought for a while as he returned her kisses with increasing fervor.

"…Clark? Are you okay?" Lana asked.

Clark jerked himself back to reality from his daydream and flushed when he thought about his dream. _As if she'd EVER kiss me again, _Clark thought,_ why would she ever want to give me another chance at her heart after the way I burned her so many years ago?_ Still, one thought from his daydream stayed in his mind: _recognize our mistakes, so we don't make them again._

"I'm sorry, Lana," Clark said, as he released her hand. "I guess I just zoned out there for a second."

"What were you thinking, Clark?" Lana asked.

Clark's flush deepened as he looked, desperately, for a way out. "Umm, I was just noticing that something I had heard was true."

"And that is…?"

"I was told that when you see someone for the first time in a long time, like at a reunion, you initially notice the ways in which that person has physically changed but then, after a few seconds, those changes fade and that person goes back to looking like the person you remember."

"So how have I changed, Clark?" Lana asked.

Clark stuck his tongue in the corner of his mouth as he thought. "Do you really want a truthful answer to that? Or are you just wanting a snow job?"

"I've always wanted the truth from you, Clark. I'd think that was the one thing about me you'd _never _forget."

"I promise, Lana, nothing but the truth from me…from now on."

The sincerity in his voice, and in his eyes, when he said that took Lana aback. For a woman like her who had been lied to so often that she had come to expect it like heat in Arizona, the prospect of a completely truthful Clark Kent was somewhat daunting.

Lana held her hands out to her sides and made a slow 360 degree turn. "So. What's the verdict? Have I gotten fat? Do I look old?" _Do you still want me like I want you?_

_Complete honesty with Lana, _Clark thought._ What a subject to test that commitment with…telling a woman **exactly** how she looks, warts and all. How do I get myself **into** these things?_

"Well…the only differences _I _see…are that you've developed some curves, just where a woman is supposed to have them, your hair seems to be somewhat lighter than I remember, and you've started getting some small crow's feet at the outside corners of your eyes. Other than that, you look like the Lana Lang I remember…_still_ the most gorgeous woman I know."

Furiously embarrassed by the unexpected compliment, Lana was at a loss for words. "Crow's feet, huh?" Lana said, when she regained her power of speech. "I guess that's appropriate for a teacher at Smallville High."

As Clark and Lana moved away from the table to gain a little privacy, Clark said, "Yeah, that's what Pete told me. He said you were teaching art. How do you like it?

"It's surprising, but I love it. Helping to nurture the kids' talents is something I never considered until college, but it's the most rewarding career I can imagine. Plus, I get to stay in Smallville." Lana looked sidelong at Clark, and said, "As for _you,_ I know you're writing for the Daily Planet and doing it very well. That Kerth award you won last year was big news around here."

"Writing is what I do best. I'm not always the best _talker, _but give me a chance to sort through all of my information, and I can cut right to the heart of a topic."

"It's funny," Lana said, "but Chloe was always the one that wanted to work at the Planet, and now you're the one actually doing it. You and Lois, that is."

"Not so funny, actually. When Chloe…_died…_Lois and I each took it upon ourselves to take her place, to honor her absolute commitment to discovering truth and fighting for justice. We went through some tough times together, Lois and I, and we're best friends as well as writing partners, even though she _still_ manages to get on my nerves like no one else. Together, I think Lois and I are just about as good as Chloe was all by herself." Clark turned to face Lana directly, and said, "That's my goal as a writer, Lana, to someday be as good of a writer as Chloe always wanted herself to be. To change the world for the better."

"But you do that already Clark. You and Lois were able to help bring down a large part of Intergang with that award-winning series of exposés, and…" whispering now, to make sure no one heard, Lana said, "and, I know you do so much more _after _work, Clark. Or should I say, _Superman?"_

Clark's eyes grew wide and his mouth flapped open like a fish out of water. That last comment from Lana hit him like a Kryptonite-enhanced punch.

"Yes, Clark," Lana said, "I _know_. It would be hard for me to be fooled by a different hair style and that big voice Superman has. After all, I spent years studying that face, and I know every crevice and every pore. You could wear a fedora and sunglasses and I would still know it's you."

"How long have you known?"

"Since that time Superman stopped a runaway Amtrak train in downtown Metropolis."

"So much for protecting you from my secret," Clark said, with a rueful smile.

Lana looked up at Clark quizzically. "That's a strange choice of words. I'd have expected you to say, 'so much for protecting my _secret_ from _you_,' instead, you seem to believe that _I _need to be kept safe from _you."_

_This is getting much too serious, much too fast, _Clark thought. "That's not something we ought to talk about here. Even bringing up my after-hours gig is dangerous. If you really want to talk about this, I'm all yours after we leave. Okay?"

"Okay." Lana looked around, and it appeared that they were getting ready to start serving the meal, as the caterers were bring large, foil wrapped containers to the serving tables. "How hungry are you, Clark?"

"Well, I had some take-out Chinese for lunch before going out to Crater Lake for a swim, but that was hours ago, so I'm famished."

Lana mulled over her options before saying, "In that case, you're coming to my house. I'll pick something up at the store on the way there and I'll cook, while you tell me why you thought I needed to be protected from you. How's that sound?"

Not giving Clark a chance to decline, Lana took him by the hand and headed for the parking lot. Clark looked longingly over his shoulder at the tables of barbecued ribs, brisket, and chicken being set out along with cole slaw, potato salad, barbeque baked beans, and potato chips. _I was hoping for a little more time, _he thought darkly as his stomach rumbled.

"Where are you parked, Lana?"

Pulling her keys out of her pocket, Lana pressed a button on the keyless remote and the motorized step swung out from under the running board as her truck's engine came to life. Clark broke out laughing when he saw that her truck was the maroon Ford that had nearly run off the road earlier today in front of the Talon.

"Maybe I'd be safer _running_ to your house," Clark said.

"Huh?"

Clark explained having seen her near-miss earlier that afternoon.

"Well…I was distracted," Lana said defensively. _Oh, God, was I __**ever**_

After Clark handed Lana up into the cab of her F-350, and then climbed into the passenger side, Lana retorted, "As we _both _know, you're bulletproof, so getting into a wreck with me is just as safe for you as running would be. Besides, Clark, you don't even know where I live."

Lana stopped at the grocery store to pick up some items for dinner. Looking back at the sheer size of the man she was with, Lana grabbed a family pack of ribeye steaks. A couple packets of her favorite marinade went into the cart along with a small bag of new potatoes. A bunch of leaf lettuce for a salad along with a bottle of salad dressing, and a couple of bottles of a decent red wine to drink.

Clark spent his time pushing the cart and thinking about what he was going to tell Lana. How to make her understand what had happened, how to make her _believe _what had happened. Thus distracted, the time passed quickly for Clark and they were back in the truck, headed for Lana's.

Curiosity overtook him as they headed toward the edge of town. _What kind of house has she bought? _Clark wondered._ Where would Lana feel most comfortable? A cozy bungalow? A ranch-style house? A split-level house? What?_

That sense of curious anticipation lasted until Clark realized they were headed in the direction of her old house, the one she had lived in with Nell. _Of course, _he thought, _she'd choose to live in the house she grew up in. _Clark's thoughts from there on turned to memories of Lana and that house.

Lana, on the other hand, grew more nervous the closer they got to their final destination. _I hope he doesn't mind that I bought his old house. How to explain that it felt more like home to me than the one just down the lane that I lived in with Nell? Would he understand me telling him it was all I had left of the best time of my life and I didn't want it to belong to someone who didn't know and wouldn't care?_

Finally, the old Potter house came into view and as Lana slowed the truck, he heard the faint click of the turn signal, but to his immense surprise, she didn't pull into the drive, instead she turned right, down Hickory Lane, toward…_Oh! _he thought as a flash of realization hit him. _Lana bought our house, though how she could afford it is beyond me. _

He turned quickly toward Lana, who had been waiting for this since making the turn. She snuck a peek at Clark, afraid of what his expression might be and was gratified to see a huge, genuine smile.

"Yes, Clark," Lana said softly, "I love this house every bit as much as you do."

She turned left into the long, unpaved driveway, pulling to a stop just next to the low, white fence that surrounded the small yard immediately in front of the house. Clark carried the bag of groceries and followed Lana into the house, setting the bag down on the kitchen table. He looked around slowly, noting what was different and what wasn't.

Most of the furniture was different, but the kitchen table was the same one he had eaten at for years. The pictures on the walls had changed, but the locations where they were hung were the same. _Probably hung on the same hooks, too, _Clark thought.

Lana just stood back quietly and watched Clark reexamine a part of his past that he had thought was lost. When he turned back to her, there were tears in his eyes. He mouthed a soundless, "Thank you!" before wrapping her in a fierce hug.

Lana's eyes started to well up at that and both of them were in need of a tissue to dry their eyes when he finally let her go. Lana found the box with the decorative crocheted cover, grabbed a tissue, and, on impulse, reached up to dab at Clark's eyes first.

"It's nice to see the old house is in loving hands," Clark said. "I couldn't have wished for anyone better. Mom knew what she was doing when she sold it to you."

"Your Mom _always _knew what she was doing, Clark."

When Lana finished drying his eyes, Clark picked up a tissue of his own and began to dry her tears. _This is what I should have been doing for the last nineteen years, _Clark thought. _I should've been the one to dry her tears, not the one to cause them. I should have been here to stand by her side, instead of running away to Metropolis. My home is here in Smallville and it always has been, not because of this house, but because this is where Lana is. _

Lana noticed a change in Clark's expression as he carefully dabbed at her face. "What's on your mind, Clark?" she asked.

"Regrets, mostly," Clark said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Things left unsaid that should have been said…that kind of thing."

"I'm here for you if you need to talk."

"I know you are…you've always been there for me, and therein lies my problem: I haven't been there for you, not like I should have been, and it's eating me up inside."

Putting her hand on his arm, Lana said, "Don't let the past eat you up, Clark. It can't be changed. Instead of dwelling on your mistakes, just make sure you learn from them and move on."

Clark smiled to think just how close to his daydream what Lana said had come, but then, he reflected, Lana had _always_ been his dream girl. As he collected himself and threw the tissues in the trash, she dug out an assortment of pots and pans and turned her stove on.

Clark casually leaned back against the kitchen counter and watched Lana as she busied herself with dinner preparations. Feeling his stare on her shoulder blades like an unscratchable itch, Lana turned to him, and asked, "Yes?"

"Actually, Lana, the past _can _be changed. That's why I'm here in your house tonight…to tell you about the time I changed history."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Second Time Around

**Friday night - Lana's house**

Lana paused for a second and then said, "Of course you've changed history, Clark. You save peoples' lives all of the time. If that isn't changing what would have happened, then I don't know what is."

"That's not what I mean by 'changing history,' Lana. Only _one _timehave I been able to go back into the past to save someone. Out of all the people I've saved from injury, and even death, only _one_ person can claim to have been saved _after _she died."

Clark watched Lana carefully, wanting to see how she reacted to what he was about to say.

"Only _you, _Lana."

The pan Lana had been filling with water clattered to the bottom of the sink. She reached out and turned off the faucet, and turned slowly toward Clark.

"Excuse me?" she said, "I could swear I just heard you say that you went back in time to save _me."_

"You heard correctly."

Lana stepped over to the kitchen table and took a seat. Clark turned off the burners on the stove and sat down across the corner from her.

"I'm just guessing here," Lana said, "but this seems to be one of those stories that I'll _need_ to be sitting down for."

"Yeah," Clark said softly, as he reached across the table to take her hands in his, lightly rubbing his thumbs across the backs of her fingers, "you just might. There's one thing _I _need from _you, _though."

"What's that?"

"_Weeeellllll…_this is a long story and you're not going to be happy with large parts of it, but I need you to not pass judgment until I complete the _whole _story." Clark broke eye contact with Lana, instead looking over her shoulder, not really seeing the cabinets beyond her. "It's entirely possible that you won't want to talk to me for a long time, maybe forever, after I let you know what you should have been told so many years ago."

If Lana hadn't been already convinced of the gravity of the story Clark was about to tell, his attitude would have done the job. "Okay," she said, "I promise."

Silence reigned as Clark searched for the words to say what he had done, what he had given up, in order to safeguard her life. How to explain the choice he had made for both of them? How to say why he had never come back, even after Lex died in that 'car wreck.' How? How? Why? How? The questions cascaded in on Clark until he thought he'd never be able to answer them all.

Finally, Clark said, "It was the day Dad…was elected to the state senate There are two sets of events, two different timelines, that happened that night. The first timeline that I'll relate, you already know, mostly anyway, because these are the events that happened after I went back in time to save you. The second timeline is what happened originally. You won't remember anything I tell you about that, because for you, it never happened.

"It all started that morning. You might remember I had asked you to meet me in the loft and had told you to bring a scarf and gloves."

"Yeah," Lana said, "I remember. I thought it was a weird request."

"You thought a 'mystery date' wasn't what our relationship needed at that time. And you were right. You needed me to come clean and…that was what I intended to do when I invited you over. I was going to tell you _everything_."

"But you just gave me more of your lame excuses, Clark."

"Yeah, when you came up the stairs is the point when the two stories began to diverge. I had already decided to do anything in my power to save you from dying a second time. If it meant I had to give you up, that was a price I was willing to pay.

"Instead of telling you my secrets, I, as you said, came up with more lame excuses and you understandably became angry and told me you needed a break from us. I don't know what you did all day, but I went to Metropolis and talked to Chloe at the Daily Planet."

Clark paused, and then, with some trepidation, continued his story. "Due to some interference from Alicia Baker during senior year at Smallville High, Chloe had found out what I could do. When she confronted me with it the day of the meteor shower, I told her the parts of my story she hadn't figured out yet."

Clark could feel Lana's fingers tighten around his and saw the distress on her face as she heard this unexpected news.

_He told Chloe? _was Lana's immediate thought, followed by, _I won Clark's heart, but it looks like Chloe won his trust! _Then guilt began to set in. _Chloe's been gone for a long time, nearly 18 years, and I'm **still** capable of being jealous of her? How petty can I be? I need to let this go. Just like I told Clark, I can't let the past destroy me…or destroy us._

Lana made her best effort at giving Clark a reassuring smile and squeezed his hands again, only this time it was a warm, comforting gesture instead of an instinctual reaction to pain. "Keep going, Clark. I'm a big girl now. You had your reasons for telling her, I'm sure. The important thing is, you're telling me now."

"Thanks, Lana. There's more to why I told her, and not you, than you can even guess at right now, but I'll come back to it at the end of my story. Hopefully you won't be quite as mad at me then."

"Who said I am mad?"

"You did," Clark said. "You smiled, but the smile never reached your eyes. Your eyes were so hot, they would've burned a hole in the wall if my face hadn't been in the way."

"Okay, so maybe I'm a _little_ mad, but I'm not as mad as you think I am."

Shooting her a dubious look, Clark continued his story. "In both timelines, a unique series of events happened in Chloe's office. First, a secretary received a bouquet of flowers, then, her boss fired someone, finally, while we were at her desk, she answered a phone call that was a wrong number looking for a Chinese restaurant.

"I was trying to convince Chloe that I had gone back in time twenty-four hours and was reliving the same day. I used my knowledge of those three events by predicting they would happen. By the time Chloe had hung up on the wrong number, she was a believer. I asked her to be your shadow, to stay by you every second and keep you away from the scene of the fatal event…which in your case was a car wreck at 11:02 p.m. You and Chloe came to the watch party at the Talon together, but somehow, you slipped away from her and headed to Lex's."

Thinking back to what she could remember of the events of that night, Lana remembered her near miss. A miss made possible by the school bus unaccountably slowing down just in the nick of time. "This…this _wreck, _wouldn't happen to have been with a yellow school bus, would it?"

"Yes, it was."

"Clark," Lana asked, her voice somewhat shaky, "did you slow the bus to keep it from hitting me?"

Quietly, almost inaudibly, Clark said, "Yeah. _That _time I was on time. A second later and I would have been too late _again…_I gave up the _world_ for that second. To think that after all the trouble I went through and all the pain I put you through, Lex _still_ almost got you killed again…had I not been in time, I would have gone insane."

"I _thought_ I had seen you standing in the shadows after I pulled over, but that didn't make any sense. Then, Lex was there, apologizing for what happened at the mansion."

Knowing he had not told Lana anything about himself this time around, a new thought entered Clark's mind. "You know, Lana, I never did learn what happened at Lex's the second time to make you run from him again."

Lana began to glow red with embarrassment. "Lex…umm, well…Lex kissed me. I was mad at you, but I wasn't ready for _that. _He chased me, trying to apologize, and I was almost hit by the bus."

"Lex," Clark said, his voice dripping with contempt. "At least we don't have to worry about _him _anymore."

"I know you two weren't friendly after you and I broke up, Clark, but I think you're being a little bit melodramatic, don't you? What exactly happened to you two?"

"There's much about my relationship with Lex you never knew. Now's not the time to tell that story though, it'll just confuse what I have to say about _this_ story.

"Anyway, after the wreck-that-never-was, you know the rest of the story and we don't need to rehash that right now. Instead, I'll now tell you what happened the _first _time you came to meet me in the loft on election day. This is a happier story…strangely, that will likely make it much harder for you to hear. I hope you'll bear with me."

"I've waited a while to learn all about you, Clark," Lana said, "I'm not going to ruin my chance _now_."

"Remember you said that, it may be the thought that saves my life."

Once again, Clark went silent as he tried to sum up what was, to paraphrase the words of Charles Dickens, "the best of times and the worst of times." In short, the best and worst day of his life.

"I was going to tell you what we did, but I think it will be better if I just show you. Are you ready for a quick trip up north?"

"How quick and how far up north?" Lana asked.

"We'll be back fairly quickly, and as far north as you can go. So, if you want to go, you'll need to dress warmly while I go collect a few belongings of mine."

"Aren't you forgetting something, Clark?"

"What?" he asked.

"We still haven't eaten dinner."

Clark grinned sheepishly as they stood up. Lana went back to preparing dinner, while Clark offered his services and made quick work of things like peeling potatoes, shredding the lettuce for salads, and slicing the other veggies he found in her crisper to add to the salads.

A short time after they started, a dinner of salads, steaks, and new potatoes was ready. As they ate, not much was said. Clark, being Clark, was seeing the glass half empty and was sad about all the dinners with Lana he had missed over the years. Lana, being a glass is half full kind of person, was enjoying this chance to spend time with the man she had never been able to let go and was hoping this might be the first of many quiet dinners.

Clark volunteered to clean up and Lana allowed it as she thought he was just going to load the dishwasher. Clark filled the sink with hot, soapy water and had the dishes, glasses, utensils, and cookware cleaned and dried in seconds. After closing her gaping mouth, Lana said, "All this time that I've known about SuperClark, I never once considered how useful those abilities could be around the house. I might just have to keep you around a little longer, Clark."

"Don't make any promises yet, Lana, I still have the rest of the story to tell you. It's time for us to get ready." Clark was halfway out the kitchen door before he turned to say, "Oh, and remember, you'll want to bring a scarf and gloves."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

First Things Second

**Friday night - Lana's house**

Little more than an hour later, they were ready. Lana had hastily dug out a couple of boxes of winter clothes before finding a suitable outfit. Her heaviest winter parka was still in the closet near the front door and she made sure she had a pair of gloves in the pockets before draping a wool scarf over the shoulders of the parka.

Clark had returned to Metropolis to pick up two items he was going to need tonight. _As much as is __**possible**_he thought, _I am going to return Lana's memory of that day to her._ Then he flew to a local power plant to pick up his last item of the evening. Not having flown in anything other than the Superman costume for so long, Clark had forgotten what flying could do to regular clothes and so, he had to return to his hotel to change into something that _wasn't _ruined. He then climbed into his Audi and drove over to Lana's to avoid messing up _this_ outfit.

Clark raced into Lana's kitchen minutes before she came down the stairs. He had to smile when he saw just how much her outfit resembled the one she had worn on that fateful day roughly nineteen years ago.

Something else hadn't changed in nineteen years, either. His heart was racing along just as before. _I'm not a kid anymore, _he thought, _you'd think I could handle this after all I've been through in my two careers. _

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes. Where exactly are we going?"

"First, we need to go to the Kawatche caves. From there, we have someplace else to go."

"Umm, Clark?" Lana asked, "You _do_ know the caves are now a state park, don't you?"

"Really? Oh no…do you have any idea when they close for the night?"

"Something like seven or eight o'clock."

"Well then," Clark said, "we'll just have to find something to do to kill some time until, oh say, nine o'clock."

Seeing a golden opportunity, Lana was not shy about seizing it. "Now that I know about your abilities, you _could _tell me the truth about all the things I've wondered about over the years."

Shrugging his shoulders, Clark said, "Sure. Now that the big secrets are coming out, the smaller ones should be relatively easy. Tell me what you want to know."

They settled back down at the kitchen table as Lana asked about a laundry list of improbable saves, starting with the tornado. After they had explored every incident Lana could recall, Clark went further and filled her in on things she didn't even suspect, like stacking the jocks' trucks at the Homecoming Dance freshman year and racing to an airport hundreds of miles away in a desperate attempt at getting Ryan some help for his brain tumor.

By the time they were ready to leave for the caves, Lana had laughed, to see the mischievous boy that had been inside Clark, and cried at the man of character he had been becoming even then. She collected her coat from the closet and Clark held it for her as she slipped her arms inside.

Stepping out into the night, and feeling goofy wearing her warmest winter clothes in the middle of May, Lana caught a look at Clark's Audi and her first thought was, _Whose car is that and why is she here?_ Not seeing any other cars in her driveway and knowing Clark had driven back from his hotel, Lana caught on quickly and asked, "This is _yours? _What ever happened to pickup trucks? The only reason _I _own a truck is that it reminds me of you and _you_ go off to the big city and buy an _Audi!"_

"Sorry, Lana. I have changed a _little bit _since I left town, but I didn't mean to ruin your image of me."

"No, no, don't worry about it. This is a _nice_ car, I'm just surprised." Looking from her truck to his car, she asked, "So which one are we going to take?"

Clark responded by scooping her up in his arms and super-speeding to the caves. Setting her down, he said, "Neither. We really don't want to leave a car outside in the parking lot after closing time. It might make people suspicious."

Trying to rake her hair back into some semblance of order with her fingertips, Lana said, "I know you're fast, but that was ridiculous." As they headed for the once-hidden room in the back, Lana asked, "I've always meant to ask you, Clark, when did this room appear? It wasn't _always_ here was it?"

"No," he replied, "it was waiting here for me."

Looking back at Clark, she said, in an absolute deadpan manner, "For you."

"I've rehearsed this like a thousand times," said a nervous Clark. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the octagonal key, saying, "What I'm about to show you may change the way you feel about me."

Trying to reassure the man that she was more and more sure she was still in love with, Lana said, "Clark, whatever it is, it's okay."

Clark placed the key into the slot. A golden light shot up from the table and wind started whipping their hair around. Lana looked around in wonder as Clark said, It's okay." Then, offering her his hand, he asked, "Do you trust me?"

Lana instantly placed her hand in his and, as he stepped close to her, they were sent along a coruscating blue and white tube, somewhat akin to a wormhole, that shot them from Smallville to the arctic in seconds.

Finding herself in a blue-white palace made of ice and crystal. Lana involuntarily gasped, "Oh my God!" at the beauty of the place and the wonder of getting there so quickly.

She turned to Clark, looking for any possible explanation, except for the one she received.

"Once, you asked me if I believed in life on other planets," Clark said. "Then, later, you told me you thought a spaceship had landed during the first meteor shower and you questioned whether an alien had been living amongst us all this time." Taking a deep breath, he said, "You have no idea how ironic those questions were."

Fighting to quell the case of nerves he was experiencing, Clark struggled to get the next words out past the rising gorge in his throat. "I'm from a planet called Krypton." _There, I've said it, it's out there and I can't take it back. I can't __**believe**__ how much this is like the last time._

Lana stepped forward to try and ease the fear that was plain to see on his face. She stroked his cheek and said, "And yet, you look like everyone else."

Clark's reply was to once again pick Lana up. Only this time, he launched them into the air and soared toward the top of the immense Fortress of Solitude. Lana enjoyed her first flight, gleefully whipping her head around like a kid in a candy store.

Clark finally landed them on an icy outcrop near the top of the Fortress. "That was amazing, Clark," she said. "All those abilities, all this time, and no one knew."

"There were so many days I wanted to tell you."

"Why today, when you've resisted telling me for so long?"

"I want you to know who I really am," Clark said. "You knew once upon a time and I think it's time for you to know again."

"'Once upon a time,'" Lana said, "isn't that how _all_ good fairy tales start?"

"I don't know if it'll be a fairy tale this time, Lana, but I'll settle for happily ever after."

He then reached into his pocket, pulled out a large lump of coal, placed it in his hand, and squeezed. As he squeezed, a white-hot glow shot from his clenched fist and Lana could feel some heat from where she was standing. When the glow died away, Clark opened his hand, blew away the remaining coal dust, and showed her a glittering, already-faceted diamond.

Next, he pulled a plain gold band, with a four-prong setting, from his pocket, a ring that had been in his possession for nineteen years. He heated the prongs of the setting with his heat vision and carefully set the stone onto the ring. The gold cooled in no time in the arctic air and Clark showed it to her.

"At this point, 19-plus years ago, I dropped to one knee and asked you to marry me."

"Really? What did I say?" _And was I as blown away as I am right now? Did I want to beat him over the head for being such a secretive jerk all this time, while at the same time wanting to tackle him on the spot and have my way with him?_

"I told you that I didn't want you to tell me right away. I knew I had just thrown a whole lot of stuff at you in a short amount of time. To expect you to sort through all of it so quickly wouldn't have been fair, or realistic."

Then they froze, both of them mesmerized by the diamond solitaire being held between them by Clark.

"I won't repeat that proposal just yet. After all, I'm still in love with a nineteen-year-old Lana. Who knows how long we'll be able to tolerate each other at this age?" Putting the diamond ring in his pocket, Clark said, "Besides, there's more you need to learn about me, things that might change your mind, things other than what bad habits I've picked up over the years."

Ignoring his last sentence, for the time being, Lana focused on what she had been wanting to hear for more years than she cared to remember. _Love! Clark said he's in love with me. Sure, he's still stuck on the younger me, but it's a start._ Collecting her thoughts and trying to control the huge smile now dominating her face, Lana said, "Clark, you've just told me you're from _another planet! _What else could you possibly have to tell that would top that? Are you a secret cross-dresser or something?"

Clark's smile now matched the one Lana was wearing. "No, nothing like that," he said, "but it is serious…deathly so, you might say. Anyway, back to our day, election day.

"After I proposed, we returned to Smallville through the portal in the caves. I left you at your SUV at the farm and gave you some time alone to think. I never learned what you did the rest of the day, but the next thing I did was tell my parents I had finally told you everything…just before I proposed marriage."

Lana rubbed her nose and asked, "Before you tell me their reactions, and I really want to know how they reacted, do you think we could use that portal and return home? I'm getting kind of cold here."

"As you wish." He shrugged his shoulders and gave a sheepish grin. "Sometimes I forget other people are susceptible to the elements."

In a matter of seconds, they went from the top of the Fortress of Solitude, to the floor, to the Kawatche caves, finally ending up on Lana's porch. Spying a porch swing out of the corner of his eye, Clark led Lana over, and as they sat down together, Clark continued his story.

"Mom was proud of me for finally telling you. Dad wanted to be sure I knew what I was doing, but once he _was_ sure, they were both very happy. After that, I went to visit Chloe and I told her the same stuff. That was the first time, and the last time, I ever saw Chloe Sullivan _truly_ speechless. Normally, she was just searching the thesaurus in her brain for the perfect six-syllable word."

"I miss Chloe," Lana said sadly.

"Me too."

"She was unique. She found her passion in life earlier than the rest of us and pursued it with single-minded devotion."

"Well," Clark said, "I found my passion in life fairly early, too."

"What? Journalism? I don't remember you being very deep into that during school."

"Not Journalism, Lana…_you," _Clark said as he put his arm around her and pulled her close.

Lana leaned her head against his shoulder and everything felt…_right._ All was the way it should be. Clark began to push the swing back and forth, ever so slightly, with his feet.

"Now, where was I?" Clark asked.

"Chloe."

"Oh yes, Chloe…after leaving the Planet, I came back home and got ready for the watch party. You were going to meet me at the Talon, but showed up at the farm a little bit early instead, saying you came to meet me at the farm because there would be a crowd at the Talon.

"I asked if I looked any different to you and you said I looked like the same handsome guy you'd always known. Not knowing how to take that, I wanted to know if that meant you were saying yes or you were letting me down easy.

"You said, and this is an exact quote, 'As in, yes, Clark, I'll marry you.' You pulled the ring out of your coat pocket and I slipped it on your finger." Clark's face held a faraway expression as he relived that memory. "It was, without exception, the happiest moment of my life. Everything I had ever wanted had come to pass."

"It sounds wonderful, Clark."

"It was. After that, we made our way to the Talon for the party. When my parents finally showed up, the four of us talked and they were happy to have you as a future member of the family. Seconds later, we learned Dad's victory was official. That was the high point for the entire Kent family.

"Then, I was pulled away by Lois for a photo op. You apparently got a call from Lex and went to his house to see how he was taking the defeat. The next thing I know, I was getting a call from you on my cell phone. You were driving down Route 40 just before Loeb Bridge."

The gentle motion of the swing was soothing and threatened to put Lana to sleep after a very long and exciting day. She struggled into a more upright position, blinking her eyes rapidly to try and stay awake.

"You okay, Lana?"

"Yes. Please continue."

"You were scared because Lex was able to tell that you knew my secret, and you were running from him. Right about that time, you noticed he was chasing you. After that, I heard you scream and then came the sickening sound of crunching metal and shattering glass.

"I panicked and ran full-speed to the crash site, reaching it only moments after your SUV came to rest. On the ground, having been thrown from the vehicle, was my love, my _life…_and you were already dead. My life was dead. Dad was headed back to the farm for something, but stopped when he saw the wreck. He pulled me off your body and held me tight, desperately trying to console me. The best day of my life had been changed into the worst in a matter of moments."

Thoughts of sleep long gone, Lana was hurting just from having listened to Clark's recitation of that evening's events . The pain evident on his face this long after the fact only served to reinforce to her the horror he must have felt. _How would I have felt had Clark been the one dead on the pavement? _Lana wondered._ What steps would I have taken to have him back safe and sound? Would there be any price too great?_

Drained, Clark stared blankly at the porch as Lana wrapped both of her arms around him and cried for the both of them.

As Lana's tears drew to a close, Clark said, "The next day I went to the Fortress of Solitude and demanded the chance to save you, to fix what had gone wrong. Chloe thought I should have gone back in time, told you everything, and saved you from the accident."

"Why _didn't_ you, Clark? We could have been together all this time. Our oldest kids would be in high school…"

"I thought of that, but the thought that dominated my mind was this: Lex knew that you knew my secret, and he wasn't the kind of guy to take no for an answer. You would have been in constant danger. The _only _way I could see to keep you safe was to not tell you my secrets. If that meant losing you, that was a fair trade off for me."

"Clark Kent, you can be a noble, self-sacrificing _ass _sometimes! But knowing what I know now, I forgive you…as long as you promise to never do that again."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

On Fire

**Friday night - Lana's porch**

After the emotionally draining revelations of the day, both Clark and Lana were mentally exhausted. They made plans to meet at the Talon for a late breakfast of bagels and coffee at 10 a.m. before they stood up and walked to the front door.

They turned to face each other just in front of the door, and Lana said, "Clark…you can't know what this day means to me. To know _why _things happened the way they did…" Wringing her hands, she continued, "All these years, I thought you didn't trust me with your secrets." Then, with malice in her voice, she said, "Lex preyed on my insecurities and drove a wedge between us…that _jerk!"_

"Let's not talk about him right now, Lana. There will be plenty of time for Lex-bashing tomorrow." Noticing for the first time the faint sheen of perspiration on her face, Clark said, "You might want to get inside and change before you melt away in those warm clothes."

Lana nodded her head in agreement that she should head inside, but stood unmoving on the porch. Curious, Clark asked, "Are you waiting for something, Lana?"

"You don't honestly think I'm going to bed without a goodnight kiss, do you?"

"Well, I…"

"After all, I've been waiting _nineteen years_ for this." Lana curled one hand behind Clark's neck and pulled him within range of her lips.

**kkkiiiissssssssss**

Long and lingering, it was every bit as good as the kiss Clark had imagined at the barbecue. Same as then, Clark thought to himself, _Oh, God, this is bliss!_

Lana's thoughts were running in a similar vein. _His lips are just as soft as I remember, _she thought. _I could never get tired of kissing him._

When their lips finally parted, their hearts were pounding, their palms were sweaty, and they clung to each other as though they were holding onto life itself. Clark gulped a breath of air and asked, "What is it that makes me want you so after this long apart?"

"I don't know, Clark," Lana said, "but I feel it just as much as you do."

"See you tomorrow?"

"10 a.m. at the Talon?"

"I'll be there," Clark said.

"I am looking forward to it already."

Lana opened her door, and calmly walked inside. As soon as the door was closed, she peeked out from behind a curtain to make sure Clark had made it to his car and then started dancing around her living room. _Oh my God, _she thought, _What a day! Clark's an alien! And he still loves me…or at least, he loves the me he remembers. Same with me, I still love the Clark that pushed me away at age nineteen. With the feelings I had the instant I saw him in the flesh…I may be falling in love with him all over again._

Then Lana's inner voice woke up and said to her, _**What do you mean 'may?' That boy owns your heart…lock, stock, and barrel. You're just waiting for him to move back home and take possession!**_

_Oh, all right, maybe I do love him. How weird is that? I haven't seen him in person since his mother's funeral and didn't get to say more than a dozen words to him then, and yet…whenever I thought of the man I'd like to be with, it's always been him. They say true love waits, but this is ridiculous!_

_**As long as you're not lying to yourself about your feelings for that boy, I can go back to sleep. Which is where you ought to be…unless you want to show up at the Talon tomorrow morning with bags under your eyes.**_

Lana went upstairs to prepare for bed, but soon realized she was too keyed-up for sleep, no matter how tired she was. Needing someone to talk to, she grabbed her cell phone and scrolled down the list of numbers until she came to one her best friends and co-workers, Evangeline Skala. Evangeline was the vocal music teacher at Smallville High, and as fellow teachers of the arts, she and Lana had formed a near-instant bond when they started their teaching careers at Smallville High the same year.

Lana listened to the phone chirp as she waited impatiently for Evangeline to pick up. Finally, she heard the slightly scratchy alto tones of her friend's voice, saying, "Lana, is that you? Why are you calling so late? Is something wrong?"

"No," Lana said excitedly, "everything's right! For the first time in a long time, everything is just the way I want it to be." _Or, at least, it's headed that way._

"Slow down, Lana. Let me get a cup of coffee to wake myself up," _'cause it looks like I'm going to need it, _"then I'll call you back and we can talk about why you've been acting so squirrelly the last two days, 'cause I'll bet a nickel that has to do with why you're so hyper right now."

"Okay!"

Clark, meanwhile, was driving aimlessly around Smallville, just savoring the events of the evening and enjoying the feeling that this time, everything would work out fine. He eventually stopped at a convenience store to refill his gas tank. Walking inside to pay the bill, Clark noticed a display of some rather pathetic flowers on the counter next to the register.

The quality of the flowers was not what struck Clark, but rather, the thought that he had a lot of making up to do. Nineteen years of flowers bought 'just because,' nineteen years of saying 'I love you,' nineteen years of being there to support her…once again, his tendency toward seeing the glass as being half empty threatened to pull him under until he remembered what Lana had said earlier, 'Don't let the past eat you up, Clark. It can't be changed. Instead of dwelling on your mistakes, just make sure you learn from them and move on.'

_I may not have to make up for nineteen years of not being here, but I'm going to start the next nineteen years off right. Still, I think I can do better than wilted roses from 7-11._

**Saturday morning - Day of the Picnic**

Clark had asked for an 8 a.m. wakeup call so he could be dressed, fed, and out the door by nine o'clock. Finally rolling out of bed by 8:15 a.m., he luxuriated in a long, hot shower. The steaming water and the pungent soap combined to fully awaken him after a short night's sleep.

_Staying awake until three a.m. thinking about Lana wasn't helpful, but it sure was fun. It was nice to finally be able to think of her freely and not worry about what could have been, _Clark thought as he rinsed the last of the suds from his skin. After toweling off with the always-too-small hotel towel, Clark dressed in a black t-shirt, green mid-thigh shorts, and a pair of white Reeboks. Clark quickly munched his way through half a dozen doughnuts at the hotel's continental breakfast in the lobby and finished the hasty meal with a tall glass of cold milk before hustling out the door.

Lana was just schlepping her way downstairs in a rumpled sleep shirt when Clark left his hotel. She immediately set her Krupp coffeemaker to make two cups of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. Outrageously expensive, the special coffee was the one luxury Lana allowed herself. Just the _smell_ of coffee brewing had a revivifying effect on her. Knowing she was going to meet Clark at the Talon at ten for bagels and more coffee, she decided to not eat any breakfast at home.

Lana dressed simply for the picnic, wearing a blue scooped-neck t-shirt, yellow shorts, and a pair of white Nikes. She grabbed a small clutch purse, threw her essentials inside and rushed out the door, determined to not be late.

By the time Lana left her house, Clark was leaving the florist with a box containing a dozen freshly-cut red roses. He wanted to make sure she didn't see the flowers ahead of time, so he waited around the corner from the Talon and used his x-ray vision to see through the intervening buildings. When Lana's maroon Ford pickup pulled into view, Clark waited for her to walk inside and then started up his Audi, pulled into a parking slot and walked inside, leaving the flowers on the passenger-side front seat.

Clark was quick enough to catch Lana at the bar, still waiting for her order. Enjoying the sight of Lana in her shorts and t-shirt, Clark thought, _Dear God, it should be illegal to look that good at our age._ Just as he stepped up next to her, the decaf vanilla latte and raisin bagel were just being handed to her.

"Hey, Stranger…long time, no see," Clark said.

"Hey there yourself," Lana replied. She turned her head and involuntarily eyed him from head to toe. _And he wonders why I almost ran off the road yesterday._

Lana waited while Clark put in his order for a hazelnut coffee and a blueberry bagel before asking, "What happened to blue and red clothes, Clark? That used to be all you ever wore."

"I'll tell you in a minute," Clark replied. After receiving his order, Clark followed Lana to an unoccupied table. He set down his food and held her chair. Upon sitting down himself, Clark answered her question. "These days, I can't wear those colors. I don't want to do anything that would cause people to associate me with my alter ego. I mean, if I went to the picnic in a blue t-shirt and red shorts, I might as well get out the cape and boots and have an autograph signing session."

"That's cool," Lana said, "black's a good color on you. With your face being framed by black hair above and a black shirt below, it makes your eyes stand out even more than usual." Wiggling her eyebrows at him suggestively, Lana said, "It's really sexy."

"I look good in black. I'll have to remember that the next time I go out for clothes."

Lana took a sip of her latte and said, "I never did get to tell you yesterday, how _you _have changed physically over the years."

Clark finished the bite of bagel in his mouth before saying, "Am I to suppose that you want to rectify that oversight _now?" _

"Oh yes," Lana said as she waved for Clark to stand up. After he complied, Lana twirled her hand to signal that he was supposed to turn for her like she had for him.

Once again, Clark did as he was asked. When he got halfway around, Lana blurted out, "Nice ass!" _Talk about Buns of Steel!_

Clark's head jerked around and his body quickly followed. "What was that?" he asked, as he sat back down.

"Sorry," Lana said, apologetically, "that just kind of slipped out." Pretending to be giving this some deep thought, Lana finally said, "Clark, you don't look like you're in your late thirties like the rest of us. You look like you're still in your mid-twenties. Also, while you always had well-defined musculature back when we were dating, you've got a lot more muscle mass than you did then. You're a lot wider across the shoulders. Your arms, legs, and chest are thicker, and yet, you have a relatively narrow waistline and your muscles are still sharply defined. Any guy I know would kill for a v-taper like you've got.

"To sum it up, it looks like the guy I knew grew up and filled out, and then quit aging. You are an amazing piece of eye candy." Lana went bright red when she heard that last sentence come out of her mouth. She hadn't meant to voice that particular thought.

Clark was too busy choking on his bagel to notice Lana's beet red face. He'd been chewing when Lana informed him he was 'an amazing piece of eye candy.' _Where the hell did that comment come from? _Clark wondered. _The Lana I remember would have died before saying that out loud._

It was just dawning on Clark that this _wasn't _the Lana he left behind all those years ago. This was a woman who had lived half her life since then, who had grown and matured. _I don't really know her like I used to, _he thought, _but…I'm going to enjoy learning. Differences I accept, but inside, she's still Lana…still the woman I love._

When he coughed up the offending piece of bagel, Clark wrapped it in a paper napkin and then asked, with a large grin on his face, "I take it that my physique has earned your approval?"

"My approval, my drool, and a couple of other things you won't learn about until later."

Intrigued, Clark leaned in and asked, "How _much_ later?"

"Well," Lana said, "that depends."

"On…?"

_How long I can hold out, _Lana thought, but what she said was, "On you."

Finishing off the last of his food and wiping his hands free of crumbs, Clark said, "We'd better get going or something bad will happen in the Talon a second time."

Lana let half of her bagel behind as they left the Talon. She was curious about Clark's last statement and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"You know about my abilities because you know about…_him._ What you don't know, is that one of my abilities has an unusual trigger."

They were standing still on the wide concrete sidewalk in front of the Talon now and Lana asked, "What ability? What trigger?"

"The heat-vision. It's caused by strong surges of hormonal activity."

"Hormonal activity? Such as…?"

"When I get, umm…_excited, _my eyes get hot. The more _excited _I get, the hotter my eyes become, until they shoot out tightly-focused beams of heat."

When it occurred to Lana exactly which hormones Clark was referring to, she shot a look over her shoulder at the Talon and burst out laughing. "So the day Lex married Desiree Atkins…_you _were the reason the Talon caught fire?"

"Yup, that was the day I nearly burned down our classroom and then tried to torch the Talon."

"In that case, I'd better go home and pull on some baggy old sweatpants."

Suiting her actions to her words, Lana turned for her truck, but Clark wheeled her back around. Waving a finger in front of her face, Clark said, "Nope, nothing doing. I've got that little bother under control now."

Instead, Clark pointed her toward his Audi and they headed to the picnic together.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The Loft

**Saturday morning - In front of the Talon**

Clark held the door to the passenger-side front seat for Lana. Her eyes were on him as she stepped over the doorsill and into the cabin. As she lowered herself toward the seat, Clark suddenly remembered the roses and lurched forward, shoving his arms under her to stop her descent. Then, he lifted slightly and gently pulled her from the car.

Not knowing what was going on, Lana squawked loudly and said, "Clark! What do you think you're doing? I hardly think I need saving in the front seat of your car." When he levered her out of the car and she finally noticed the box on the front seat, Lana turned to Clark and asked, "What's that?"

Clark set Lana down and gestured to the box. "Open it," he said. "It's for you."

Lana lifted the box off of the leather seat, walked around the door, and placed it on the hood of the car. Then she looked at the box with all the anticipation of a kid on Christmas morning, wondering just what Santa Hunk had brought her. Finally, she slid her nails between the lid and the bottom of the box and lifted.

Inside was something she had not expected from Clark, something she could not _ever_ remember receiving from him, other than during one of her all too frequent visits to the hospital. _Flowers, _she thought. _Roses, to be exact. From Clark. Oh my dear man, 'later' just became somewhat sooner._

Absentmindedly holding the lid of the box in her left hand, Lana reached out with her right hand to touch the roses, as if to make sure they were real. They looked so fresh, that she thought they should still have morning dew on the blood-red petals. Her hand slowly pulled back to cover her mouth, which was opened wide in surprise.

Lana quickly recovered her equilibrium, and a smile swept over her face. "Clark, the roses are _gorgeous,"_ she said, as she launched herself at Clark and kissed him thoroughly. Her eyes were aglow as she pulled away from Clark to lift the flowers, which were wrapped in green tissue paper, out of the box. She lowered her head toward the just-opening blooms and breathed in their scent.

"They smell just as beautiful as they look," Lana said. Thinking quickly, she told Clark to meet her at her house. She just _had _to put the flowers in a proper vase, and this way, she would be able to leave her truck at home.

Lana drove her truck home with the flowers on the bench seat beside her and Clark following in his Audi. Once home, Lana hustled up the steps and into the house and was rummaging in her cabinets for a suitable vase by the time Clark stepped inside.

"Is there a particular vase you're looking for, Lana?"

"Yeah. It's tall and fluted, and it's made out of clear glass."

Clark focused, seeing through the wooden cabinets as if they were not there. Spotting a likely candidate almost immediately, Clark walked two cabinets down from where Lana was looking, opened the door, and pulled a vase out from behind some old Mason jars that his mom used to use for canning.

Lana took one look and stopped her search. "What was that doing in there?" she wondered out loud.

"What are you asking _me_ for?" Clark replied. "I don't live here."

"I was asking a rhetorical question, Clark," Lana said as she snatched the vase from his hand. She spent the next several minutes carefully arranging the flowers in the vase. After adding some fresh water to the vase, she was ready to go.

Clark looked at his watch and noticed it was just approaching eleven o'clock. He thought for a second and then asked, "Lana, since the picnic isn't scheduled to start until noon, would you mind terribly if we went to the loft. I'd like to see what's happened to it since I left."

Lana acquiesced and they headed out to the barn, arm-in-arm until they reached the foot of the winding stairway that led to Clark's personal refuge from days gone by. At that point, Lana jumped in front of Clark and brought him to a halt by pressing her hand to his chest.

"Stay here for a minute and let me go up and turn some lights on," Lana said. "I want you to have the right first impression."

"Okay, I'll be waiting."

Two steps up the stairway, Lana looked back over her shoulder, and said, "No peeking with x-ray vision, either."

Giving Lana his best hangdog look, Clark said, "Yes, _Mother!" Jeez, I haven't gotten __**that**__ warning since Mom thought I was getting an early preview of my Christmas presents back in high school._

Lana rolled her eyes and continued up the stairs.

Once at the top, she raced around tidying things that did not need to be tidied and took a quick look around to make sure nothing embarrassing was sitting out in the open before flipping on both power switches and telling Clark he could come on up.

The main part of the loft, right in front of the Dutch doors, was where most of the changes had occurred. Gone were the old strings of Christmas lights that used to line the walls; in their place were some tastefully chosen track lights on both the left and right sides. A large ceiling fan had been installed and the couch Clark remembered, which had been old even then, had been replaced with a couch that was newer and was upholstered in a pale yellow fabric. Next to the couch was a halogen stand lamp. On the floor in front of the couch was a faux-Persian area rug that covered a large portion of the floor in this section of the loft. Clark noticed all of these things peripherally, but his eyes were drawn to what stood before the Dutch doors.

A telescope.

_His _telescope.

There was no doubt in Clark's mind about that. He could see certain scratches on the telescope that had been there for as long as he could remember. He hurried over, pulled the caps off of the lens and the eyepiece and looked through the telescope for the first time in years.

Lana stood silently to one side, watching as Clark made minute adjustments to the telescope's focus. He looked up at Lana, a smile on his face, and said, "I can't believe you still have this. I thought for sure Mom would have sold it in the yard sale when she moved out of here."

"She did, Clark, and I bought it. I hadn't yet decided to try and buy the house, but I wanted something of yours that had some of our memories attached to it." Lana stepped up to the other side of the telescope and said, "There was nothing that meant so much to us as this telescope." She gave the telescope a wistful look and said, "I used to come up here at night and wish I could use it to spy on _you, _wherever you were. To see you were all right, to know you were happy."

"I'll admit to having had moments of happiness," Clark said, "whether it was from a well-written article, or from stopping a particularly nasty criminal, or from something else…but I was never _truly_ happy, because you weren't there. I've missed you more than I know how to explain."

"You don't have to explain, Clark, because I know,in here," Lana said as she tapped her breastbone"exactly how much I missed you."

Clark finally took a careful look around the rest of the room, noting in detail the changes he had only half-seen earlier. The one thing Clark had missed on the way up, were the bookcases that lined the walls underneath the track lighting. The bookcases were nearly filled to capacity with everything from paperbacks, trade paperbacks, hardbacks, and even a few leather-bound special editions.

It dawned on Clark exactly what Lana used the loft for these days. It was her personal library and reading room. He was pleased by the fact that Lana decided to use his original 'Fortress of Solitude' as the place _she_ went to get away from the world for a few hours.

"Still reading I see," Clark said as he picked up a dog-eared, paperback edition of _Doctor Zhivago_ and began to thumb through it.

"Yes, I still read, and as you've probably already guessed, this is my reading room. I bring a couple of electric heaters up here in the winter, but because of school, I usually don't have much time to read then. Only summer vacation allows me the time to read that I'd like, and then I'm up here nearly every day." Waving a hand skyward, Lana said, "Hence the ceiling fan."

"Yeah, my parents always said it was too hot up here during the day from May through September."

"It _was_ hot, Clark. It can get so stuffy up here."

"I never noticed."

Lana rolled her eyes and said, "Why am I not surprised…_Superman?"_ She returned her gaze to the loft and continued, saying, "As for the rest of the furnishings, the rug is here so I can walk around barefoot without collecting a slew of splinters in my feet, the stand lamp is for good reading light, and the couch is yellow because it lightens a room that is otherwise too dark."

In the other area of the loft, where Clark's desk had been, he could see the same desk was still in place. "What do you do over there?" Clark asked as he set the book back on its shelf and led Lana to the desk.

"Paperwork, grading, even studying when I went back to school to get my Master's degree."

"A Master's? Cool! What's it in?"

"Art History, what else?" Lana replied with a smirk on her face. "The local school system wanted all of the teachers to have Master's degrees, so I had to get one. I _did _get a sizeable pay raise after I collected the sheepskin, though."

"After all that work? I should hope so!" Clark took a final look around and said, "I like what you've done up here, Lana. The loft still looks comfortable, but it also looks more elegant, more _refined_ than when I lived here. Of course, back then, I thought refined meant not belching in public." Clark glanced at his watch and saw that it was past 11:30, so he said, "If we want to be there on time, or maybe even a little early, we need to go."

"Sounds fine to me, let's go." Lana was closer to the stairs than was Clark. She noticed this, began edging closer to the stairs, and said, "Last one to the car makes dinner!"

She hadn't even set foot on the first landing when the sound of a revving car engine came in through the open barn door. Lana looked behind her and saw no Clark, then she raced outside to see Clark driving his Audi right up to the barn door.

Totally chagrined, Lana stood there, hands on hips and mock-glared at Clark. He replied with a big grin, leaning his head out of the driver's-side window to ask, "Hey, Lana, what's for dinner tonight?"

"I don't know, I wasn't planning on having to cook," she replied morosely.

Once on their way, Clark asked, "Whatever possessed you to have a foot race with me?"

"The thought that you might play fair?"

"Oh, and you announcing the race while already heading toward the stairs was fair?"

"Well, I'm little," Lana said, "I _need _a head start." Looking over at Clark, Lana asked, "How'd you get by me anyway? I was blocking the stairs with my arms. You didn't fly did you?"

"Nope," Clark said smugly, "I just jumped out of the open Dutch doors. Admittedly, I used super-speed, but I would have won going at normal speed by going the direct route."

"I wonder if you're still ticklish? Or maybe that's _super_-ticklish?"

A wary look now on his face, Clark chanced a glance at Lana and said, "You wouldn't!"

"There's no telling _what_ I might do, Clark. It could happen at any time. Remember, I know your weakness."

"Actually, Lana, you _don't_ know my weakness. My real weakness, physically anyway, is Kryptonite. It's a mineral that came from the sky during the two meteor showers. The most common color is green and if you were to have a piece in your possession right now, I would cramp up uncontrollably and drive off the road. It doesn't just make me sick, it negates all of my powers…long-term exposure to the stuff would mean my death."

By the end of his monologue, Lana was slightly scared. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why does it make you sick? Why have you come back when you know that stuff can be found all over the county? And most importantly, why haven't you told me before? I used to have a necklace made of that stuff back in school…" Lana paused and gasped as the realization hit her. "So _that's _why you turned into a klutz whenever we got close, it was my necklace, not me."

"Let's take those 'whys' in order. First, I don't know why it makes me sick, except…that stuff comes from my home planet, so maybe that has something to do with it. Second, that stuff has been cleaned up in the public areas, the only places likely to have green-K are impact craters and places deep in the woods. Needless to say, I'm not going hiking in the woods anytime soon.

"And as for why I didn't tell you, that secret goes hand-in-hand with where I'm from. Once I told you about _that, _the information about Kryptonite wouldn't be far behind."

About that time, Clark's car pulled into the parking lot at Crater Lake next to where the picnic was being held.

Holding her door, Clark said, "Come on, Lana. Let's go see if we can make Pete choke on his drink when we walk up hand-in-hand."

"All right, as long as it's hand-in-hand, I'll go anywhere with you."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Picnic

**Saturday noon - Crater Lake**

"Since they both left the barbeque before it started," Charisse said, "do you think either one will bother to come to the picnic, Pete?"

"Mmm…I'd bet all tea in China that Lana will be here," Pete replied. "Clark's another story. Knowing _him_, he probably panicked and ran when he saw he was supposed to sit next to_ her._ She likely saw him leave and chased after him."

"Why would he run from Lana? She's the sweetest, most attractive woman I know."

Pete raised his beer to his lips and took a small sip to give himself time to think. _How to tell my wife the essentials without turning this into a History Channel marathon?_

"Back in high school, those two wanted each other bad, from freshman year on. Every time they got close, something got in the way and separated them again. Clark just recently filled me in on what happened after I moved away before senior year. Apparently, they finally started dating but something serious happened to break them up for good." Holding his hand up to stop the inevitable questions, Pete said, "Don't waste your time asking _what _happened, Charisse. That secret's not mine to tell."

"Well, if I can't get _you _to tell me, I'll just have to go to the source." Pointing over her husband's shoulder, Charisse said, "Look, here he…no, here _they _come."

Pete whipped around and saw Clark smiling from ear-to-ear as he walked up to the picnic pavilion where the Rosses were standing. _Draped_ over him, and there was no other word for it in Pete's mind, was a squealing Lana Lang. The Rosses gave each other a look that conveyed as much thought as a short conversation. Each was thinking the same thing: maybe Lana and Clark had left the barbeque _together._

Upon closer inspection, Clark appeared to be tickling Lana with one hand as he carried her over his shoulder with the other. With her arms wrapped tightly to her sides by the arm Clark was using to hold her in place, Lana's only possible response was to fail around helplessly with her legs as she breathlessly squealed her protests.

"Oh please stop…Clark…I can't…take any more…_please?"_ Lana pleaded.

"Hmm…" Clark said, stroking his chin with his free hand as he pretended to consider her request, "Do you promise to quit tickling _me?"_

"Oh God, yes! Anything to get you to stop."

"_Anything?_ Anything's an awfully big promise for such a little woman."

Lana shot him a look out of the corners of her eyes and said, "Well…not _anything_, but almost anything."

"Since you're already making dinner for me, I guess I can let you go for nothing more than your promise."

That last verbal exchange of took place right in front of the Rosses, so when Clark swung Lana down off of his shoulder and stood her in front of him, they were greeted by twin smiles from Pete and Charisse Ross.

The girls and guys paired off before heading down to the lakeshore where a competitive game of beach volleyball was already under way.

Over the next several hours, Clark became reacquainted with many of his former classmates. Lana even found some she had not seen since graduation. Clark took advantage of this first-ever chance to show off in front of his girlfriend. He hadn't been dating Lana when he was quarterbacking the football team in high school, so he used the _tiniest_ portion of his abilities, and became the star of any game he played.

In basketball, he was deadly from way outside and if someone came out on him, he was by them in a flash, driving to the hoop. In the guys' volleyball game, no one wanted to be on the receiving end of one of Clark's spikes, and as for softball, they never found the ball he hit into the lake from 400 feet away.

Lana smiled to see Clark trying to impress her like he was a teenager again. She thought he should know nothing could top the way she felt about his work as Superman, but knowing in her heart that this display was just for her made it special nonetheless.

When Clark wasn't participating in the games, he was watching Lana play. She had never played sports in school, beyond running cross country, but that didn't mean she wasn't athletic. Lana had always been quick and graceful and, unlike many of her classmates, she had worked hard to _keep_ herself in shape.

After everyone sat down for the mid-afternoon meal, more traditional games were played, like sack races, spoon-and-egg races, even a three-legged race that Clark and Lana won together.

As afternoon turned to evening, the picnic broke up and everyone went their separate ways. Clark and Lana headed for the parking lot, arm-in-arm. Both were dirty, with a lot of the dirt having been picked up during the last activity of the day, a giant game of tug-of-war. Not surprisingly, Clark's team had won, and, expecting that result, Lana had made _sure_ she was on his team. The clouds of dust kicked up by the stamping feet of so many tuggers had coated everyone involved in a fine layer of dirt.

Lana looked at herself and then looked over at him and said, "I'm _filthy. _I need to shower and change clothes before we do anything else, and from the look of things, you need to do that just as bad as I do."

Clark had been too wrapped up in happy thoughts to have noticed, but when Lana mentioned it, he looked and decided they looked like a pair of chimney sweeps, the only difference being that they were covered in dirt instead of soot.

"I'll drop you off at your house and then go back to the hotel to get cleaned up," Clark said.

Thus it was, an hour later, that Clark was just easing his Audi to a stop in Lana's driveway. Remembering that she thought he was sexy in black, Clark had run back to Metropolis to get a black shirt out of his closet to wear this evening.

A quick knock on the back door was followed by Lana saying, "It's open, Clark. Come on in."

They had eaten steaks the night before, so tonight, Lana was making a rich tomato meat sauce to go with the pot of spaghetti she had just put on the stove to cook.

Clark had remembered Lana's last-minute request and had bought a loaf of fresh French bread from the local Breadsmith store on his way back to the farm. He set it down on the kitchen table and made sure to stay out of Lana's way. If there was one thing Clark remembered about his mom in the kitchen, it was that you risked her wrath if you got underfoot. Clark decided it would be safer for him to assume Lana was the same way.

Another half-hour later and they were enjoying a meal of salad, spaghetti and meat sauce, and warm, crusty French bread. More than that, though, they were enjoying each other's company.

After dinner, Clark did the dishes in no time at all, and they moved to the living room couch to sit down and relax over a cup of coffee. Once the coffee was finished, Lana moved on to what she'd been anticipating ever since dinner.

"You said yesterday," Lana said, "that there was something you needed to tell me about tonight…something 'deathly serious' you said."

"Yeah, I did. It has to do with the deaths of Chloe and Lex."

Clark stared at the wooden floorboards as he tried to organize the maelstrom of thoughts and emotions that were attached to this subject. He asked, "Lana, would you tell me what you already know about Chloe's death? It might be easier for me to go on from there."

"Well, okay," Lana replied. "It was sophomore year at Met U and Chloe and I were living together in that ratty apartment on Bleeker Street. She had gone back to Smallville for the weekend. _Ostensibly, _she was going home to spend time with her dad, but I thought she was working on a story. She had that special gleam in her eye that only came from being on the trail of something big.

"When she didn't come back on time Sunday night, I called her cell phone several times, but got no answer. That's when I really began to get worried. I called her dad and he said she had left hours ago and should've been back in Metropolis already. He called the Smallville police to report Chloe missing. They searched for hours before someone reported a missing guard rail on that sharp turn at Carleton Gorge.

"They found Chloe's car at the bottom of the gorge and she was still strapped inside, but there was nothing they could do, because she was already dead. Since it was a traffic fatality on a state highway, the Kansas State Police investigated and said they couldn't tell what caused the accident. Her car appeared to have been in perfect working condition before driving over the cliff. They found no evidence of foul play and her car hadn't been hit by anyone else because they didn't find any paint marks from another car.

"They concluded she fell asleep at the wheel, which was a bunch of crap because Chloe was always on some kind of caffeine drink, whether it was coffee or Red Bull, or MDX…she said was able to squeeze more hours out of a day that way." Lana sighed and said, "I just don't know what really _did _happen that day."

Clark got up and got them both a refill of coffee before he replied. "Tonight, you're going to know what happened, 'cause Lois and I did some investigating of our own. I was able to find out some stuff the state police couldn't by using my abilities. Plus, Chloe had left us a cache of information that led us back to her killer."

"Her…her killer?" Lana asked in disbelief.

"Yes, you heard me right…her _killer._" Clark replied quietly. "She was working on a story, one that would have made her reputation as a journalist, but the subject of the story found out and took steps to have her silenced...permanently.

"The problem the murderer had was that Chloe left a duplicate of her research and a couple of self-recorded DVDs in a secure location that only Lois knew about. It was a fail-safe in case anything happened to Chloe. One DVD was for me. In it, she told me if I was seeing this, then she was already dead and had likely been killed by the man she was investigating. She told me she had reached an understanding with that man, just after the second meteor shower, that he would quit researching _me, _and she would stay away from _him._

"Chloe found out that man had continued trying to learn my secrets, so she kept her word. She went after that man, tooth and nail, in an attempt to being him down. Reading through her research, she had him, too. Dead to rights. All she was doing in Smallville that weekend was meeting a source one last time to tie up some loose ends.

"It turns out the meeting was a fake. Chloe was supposed to meet her source on her way back to Metropolis, out by Carleton Gorge. Only, she met a hit man instead. I won't go into the details, but she was put to sleep and her car was driven off the road into the gorge. Someone in the state police had been bought off to make sure nothing suspicious was found."

"But…who was it? Who wanted Chloe dead?" Lana asked, stunned to have learned her roommate had been murdered.

"That's the other part of my story. Her story target was Lex Luthor."

Lana's eyes shot open wide and she thought she was going to throw up. She'd known for a long time that Lex could be cold and callous and their friendship had ended soon after she and Clark broke up in college, but she would never have believed him capable of murder. Yet, here was Clark, looking at her with all the intensity of a prosecutor, telling her that Lex was responsible…and she believed him. Clark had never been able to lie to her successfully, she had _always_ known. This time, there was no attempt to deceive. _Oh, Lex,_ she thought,_ what did you do?_

"If you want confirmation," Clark said, "I can call Lois. She should be back from her vacation by now and can confirm everything I've just told you."

Lana weakly waved off his offer, saying, "No, Clark, I believe you. I'm just…having trouble getting my mind around the idea that the man who was once my friend could have murdered my roommate."

After a minute or two of silence, Lana asked, "What happened next?"

"Lois and I confronted Lex at the Luthor Mansion. We didn't let him know we had Chloe's research, we just told him what we had found out about the murder. Lex stood there and laughed. He _admitted_, point blank, that he had been the one to have her killed. He was impressed we had figured it out, but he knew our evidence wouldn't stand up in court. After all, the things I had heard couldn't be put on a tape recorder, so there was no proof.

"Lois wanted to print Chloe's story and ruin Lex, but I was consumed with an unappeasable rage. I wanted Lex Luthor to pay the ultimate price. He had to die."

Lana's mouth hung wide open as she listened to Clark's tale. Even now, roughly eighteen years after Chloe's death, she could _feel _the rage flowing from him. "What did you do?" she asked.

"I talked Lois into waiting to go to the Planet with Chloe's article and then I stalked Lex, using my abilities. I found the perfect time and place to take my revenge. He liked to drive by the 'crash' site on Sunday evenings, right about the time Chloe was killed. The third weekend he drove out to that isolated spot, I flew down out of the sky in front of his car and stopped him with one hand on the hood of his Ferrari.

"'Well, well, if it isn't my old friend, Clark Kent,' Lex said as he climbed out of the car. 'I see you're not so shy about using your talents anymore.' Those were the last words Lex said. I sped around the car and closed one hand around his throat and began to _squeeze."_

Lana was riveted by Clark's confession. A bomb could have gone off in her driveway and she wouldn't have noticed.

"Then," Clark said, "I lifted him off the ground, making all of his body weight pull on his neck. Lex was failing around, desperate to break my chokehold, but he might as well have been asleep for all the good it was doing him. 'Lex,' I said, 'how many pounds of pressure do you think it takes to snap a human neck? Don't think too hard, _old friend_, 'cause you're about to find out!'

"While I was holding him, I told him everything he ever wanted to know about me, all of my abilities and even my origin and then I asked him, just before he died, 'Was it worth it, Lex? Was it worth Chloe's life and your life to learn my secrets? I hope so.'"

"I wonder what was going through his mind at the end?" Lana wondered, almost to herself.

Clark's face took on a wolfish aspect at that point. "Oh," he said, "I know _exactly _what the last thing was that went through Lex's mind."

"And that was…?"

"My fist!" Clark shouted.

He was breathing hard by now, his nostrils were flaring, and his adrenaline was flowing and Lana was becoming worried. She slid over toward him until their knees touched and placed one of her hands on his forearm. "Clark," she said, "Clark! Look at me! Come back to me. Take a deep breath and hold it…that's good, now, let it out slowly. Now, again. Deep breath…and let it out slowly."

When Clark finally released his rage, Lana said quietly, "So you killed Lex because he killed Chloe and the courts couldn't do anything about it."

Emotionally spent, Clark answered just as quietly, "Yeah. He had already taken the love of my life from me because he wouldn't let up about my secrets. Then, he had my best friend killed and my secrets were at the root of that, too. I felt indirectly responsible for Chloe's death and I was _not_ going to let Lex walk free.

Clark paused a moment before going on, "I think killing Lex before I became Superman is a big reason why Superman has never killed anyone. I know what it is like to take the law into your own hands. There's a part of me, deep down inside, that wants nothing more than to deal out summary judgment and execute sentences right on the spot. I'm afraid of becoming someone like that, Lana, and so I hold on even harder to our system of justice."

And, finally, he whispered, "I had to tell you this now, before we went any further with this…reconciliation. After all, could you _ever_ love a confessed murderer?"

Lana gently wrapped him in her arms and pulled him close with a warm hug. "I think I can, Clark," she said, "the question is, will you let me?"

Surprised, Clark looked down at Lana and said, "How can you…"

The rest of his sentence was stifled by a small, slender hand that was placed over his mouth. "Shh," Lana said, "I, too, know what it's like to kill someone. It's hard for someone who's always tried to do the right thing to come to terms with the fact that they've taken a life."

Clark's eyes were almost as wide as his mouth. Lana couldn't have stunned him anymore than she already had without announcing she was into girls.

"Who? When?" Clark asked, those being the only questions he could stammer at that moment.

"Well, it happened the day of the second meteor shower…"


	10. Chapter 10

-1Chapter 10

Stress

**Saturday evening - Lana's house**

"…and then I came to," Lana said, "on top of a dead Genevieve Teague, with blood all over the crystal, and Lex coming in the door."

"So, let me get this straight," Clark said. "The last thing you remember is fighting, and losing to, Genevieve Teague…but when you regained control from…Isobel…Genevieve was dead."

Lana nodded her head and said, "Yeah, and Lex saw me with the bloody stone while I was right on top of her. Oh, one other thing I almost forgot: that tattoo I picked up in Paris disappeared sometime during the fight and has never come back."

"No more signs of Isobel?"

"Nope. Ding-dong, the witch is dead!"

"Yeah, but, she was dead to _start_ with. Still, it's good she's gone."

"You're telling _me," _Lana said. "If she still had access to my credit cards, I'd have a closet _full_ of hooker boots, leather corsets, and thigh-high stockings."

Clark rubbed his eyes quickly and said, "Nothing wrong with that."

"Oh," Lana said, "so you'd _like_ it if I had a closet full of that stuff, huh?"

"What man wouldn't?"

Lana pulled her shoes and socks off, tucked the socks in the shoes, curled her legs underneath her body, and said, "Don't get me wrong, a little bit of that stuff can be fun to have around to wear for someone special, but that was the _only_ kind of clothing that Isobel wanted to wear."

Clark's hands headed back to his eyes, as he said, "Maybe we ought to talk about something other than the 'evil slut's' fashion sense."

_Now that I know about the hormonal trigger for his heat vision, _Lana thought, _teasing Clark could be a whole lot of fun!_

"What's the matter, Clark? Don't you like 'aggressively sexy' women?"

"Oh, I _do_, umm…sometimes anyway, it's just that, if I'm going to be helpless to resist a woman, I'd like it to be because she flooded my mind with powerful emotions, not because she pinned me to the wall with magic."

"I'll keep that in mind," Lana whispered in his ear.

Summoning what remained of his self-control, Clark said, "As for your story, you were clearly acting in self-defense and, even though no one besides you, me and Lois will believe it, the death itself was caused by Isobel." Clark stretched his legs out, crossed them at the ankles, and said, "Huh, I finally have something to thank Isobel for and she's not around to hear it."

"Thank her? For what?"

"Saving your life. I'd say that's something to give thanks for, don't you?"

"Oh, all right," Lana groused. "At least my ancestor was good for _something."_

After that, Clark and Lana spent hours just talking…about nothing in particular, but everything in general. The more time they spent together, the harder it became for Clark to leave, but neither he nor Lana was _quite_ ready to make the commitment of self that each would have required to take _that_ step.

After a lingering goodnight kiss, Clark drifted to his car and headed back to his hotel. He was in no hurry to get there, since sleep was still far away.

_Who could sleep after a night like tonight?_ Clark thought, as he pulled out of the driveway.

Lana puttered around the kitchen for a few minutes, making sure everything was neatly put away before she dressed for bed. A set of pale blue pajamas made of a light cotton weave was perfect for the warm nights of late Spring in Kansas. The sleeves were short, but the pants went right down to her backless house slippers. The scuffing sounds of Lana's slippered feet on the stairway treads were the only sounds in her house as she came back downstairs to watch a DVD.

As she perused her movie collection, she started looking through her romantic movies and finally found the one she was looking for, at the back of the alphabet where it belonged. She slid the disk out of its sleeve in the 200-capacity carrying case, popped it into the DVD player, and pressed the play button on her remote. As the opening title sequence for "While You Were Sleeping" came up, Lana was searching her kitchen for some chocolate.

_I thought I had an emergency bag of Dove chocolate candy in the pantry, but…oh, that's right, I ate that last week while wondering if Clark was going to show this weekend. Rats! _

The only chocolate turned up by her rapid search was a canister of Nestlé's Quik powder.

_It's the only chocolate in the house right now, _she thought, _so I guess a tall glass of Quik will have to do._

By this time, Clark was just pulling into the parking lot of the hotel. Partway across the lot, he pressed a button on his key fob that locked the car doors and activated the high-tech security system.

Clark took entered the lobby and rode the glass elevator up to his suite on the fifth floor. Like all other suites in this newly-built facility, his overlooked the central atrium. This was a security feature that allowed hotel security to watch a guest all the way to their room, _and _to keep an eye on anyone trying to steal from the rooms.

After changing into his drawstring, white silk pajama bottoms, Clark flipped through the pay-per-view choices on the hotel's in-room TV before turning it off and picking up the book he was currently reading, "The Brothers Karamazov" by the Russian master Fyodor Dostoevsky.

In the normal course of a day, Clark did not have much time for reading, but he always managed to sneak in at least fifteen minutes at the end of the day before he went to sleep, and on nights where sleep would not come, he read a lot more than that. Clark was always surprised by how much reading he got done that way.

The problem was, he was getting _too much _reading done these days. Sleep was more and more becoming a precious commodity. The stress of having to live up to his reputation as an award-winning journalist was an ant's pimple next to the Mt. Everest of stress engendered by the life and death choices he made everyday as Superman. When multiple emergencies required his help, _at the same time, _how was he supposed to choose who lived and who died?

Those he had been unable to save always commanded his thoughts in the wee hours of the morning, and, over time, the weight of these deaths was growing, growing to the point that Clark didn't think he could take it anymore.

His two nights here in Smallville had been his best sleep in many months. All Clark knew was that Lana was a balm for his tortured soul. He knew he could go on without Superman, but more and more, he was becoming _convinced_ he could not go on without _her. _Within minutes, Clark was fast asleep, his head propped against the headboard, the lights on, and the open book laying on his chest.

An hour later, Lana was unable to keep her eyes open during the last part of her movie and finally gave up, shuffling off to her bedroom after shutting off her DVD player and TV.

**Sunday morning - Clark's room**

An insistent thumping sound brought Clark to his senses shortly after eight in the morning.

_Who the heck is that? _Clark wondered.

Not wanting to leave the bed, he x-rayed the door to see who could possibly be knocking at this unholy hour. What he saw was not going to make him any happier. Outside his door, sporting his ever-present bow tie, was Clark's very own remora, Jimmy Olsen.

Clark threw open the door and pulled the full-time photographer, and part-time Clark-worshipping sycophant, into the living area of the suite by his shirt collar, slamming the door closed behind him. Clark frog-marched Jimmy right in front of the white leather sofa and shoved him backward. Jimmy staggered until his legs hit the front of the sofa, which caused his legs to buckle and he fell back onto the sofa.

Clark stepped right in front of Jimmy, which caused him to tower over the slightly-built young man, and said, "What are you doing here, Jimmy? Did I _ask_ for a photographer on this? Perry and I both know he was put up to sending me out here. He doesn't have any real interest in an out of the way town like Smallville. The only thing in Smallville that would have ever interested him died a long time ago."

Wilting before Clark's verbal onslaught, Jimmy fiddled with his camera case and said, "Well, I…I…oh jeez, Clark. Lois came back yesterday, and after she talked to Perry, she told me where you were. She said you were working on a 'hot' story and would need an ace photographer. I volunteered and she told me where you would most likely be staying. She was right too, Clark. She sure is smart." Seeing the impatience building on Clark's face, Jimmy continued, "I circled the parking lot and saw your Audi right off and the lady at the counter was so nice. When I told her I was here to meet my boss, she told me right where to find you."

_She probably told you so you'd leave her alone, _Clark thought darkly. _I hadn't planned on getting up before the crack of noon. Now that the Energizer bunny is here, I'll never get back to sleep._

"Remind me to thank Lois for her thoughtfulness the next time I see her," Clark said, as he rolled his eyes. _Her thoughtfulness in pouring salt in my wound by sending this fice dog after me will not be forgotten. Though, if she knew how much this lame assignment has come to mean to me, I think she would have held off. A joke is one thing to Lois, a chance like I have now is something else. She'd respect it, give me every chance to make it work, and, secretly, she'd cheer my every success. Best friends do that and Lois has been that for me for a long time._

"…and don't you worry, Clark, I brought everything I need for this assignment. I'm ready to go!"

"Okay, Jimmy, I'll see if there's something for you and that fancy Leica of yours to do. Give me a few minutes to get myself together and we can go have some breakfast, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Clark."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Passionate Kisses

**Sunday morning - Clark's hotel**

Minutes later, a freshly-showered Clark Kent met his high-spirited sidekick in the lobby of the hotel. Jimmy's inane chatter picked up right where it had left off. Clark looked over the top of Jimmy's head, right at the young woman stationed at the front desk, and gave her a dirty look. Her return look was filled with commiseration and she mimed putting her fingers in her ears just before Clark and Jimmy reached the front door. Clark grinned and shook his head, knowing that the long wait before he was to meet Lana for the evening's festivities had just become immeasurably longer.

Jimmy assumed they would take separate cars, but Clark wouldn't hear of it. "There's no way I'm letting you out of my sight in Smallville," Clark said, "you'd just get lost and I don't want to spend an hour tracking you down…and, no, I'm not riding in that econo-box you drive. One of the primary reasons I bought this huge luxury sedan was so I'd have enough leg room. So go grab the rest of your gear and stow it in my trunk."

Jimmy's eyes sparkled like a string of Christmas tree lights as he raced over to his car and collected his stuff. Clark hurried over to help Jimmy when he realized exactly how much Jimmy had brought along.

"What did you bring, Jimmy?" Clark asked.

"Oh, well, I couldn't decide on what I might need since Lois wouldn't tell me what this 'hot story' of yours is about, so I brought_everything," _Jimmy replied cheerily.

Once the camera equipment was stowed, Clark climbed behind the wheel, only to hear Jimmy cry out, "Shotgun!"

Clark waited for Jimmy to buckle himself in before saying, "Jimmy, you're the only person in this car besides me…who _else_ is going to ride shotgun?"

Crestfallen, Jimmy kept quiet all the way through a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes, fruit, and milk. It wasn't until they left the diner that Jimmy's natural exuberance overrode his embarrassment.

"What's the big story, Clark?" Jimmy asked. "What's going on in this cowtown that would justify sending one of the best writers on the staff all the way out here?"

"Jimmy, I don't know what Lois told you, but there's no story out here. At least, not anything that will ever see the inside of an edition of the Daily Planet."

"Then why…?"

Clark cut his co-worker off with a wave of his hand. "Like I said earlier, I suspect I'm out here as a favor to someone. All I'm here for is to cover my 20th high school reunion." Clark unlocked the doors to his Audi with the key fob. "You see, Jimmy, I was raised in this bucolic paradise and someone with considerable influence wanted to make sure I showed up."

_And who in Smallville has that kind of influence, _Clark wondered. _With Lionel Luthor killed, oh so ironically, by the same heart problems that killed my father, and with Lex dying from a 'blunt trauma to the brain,' the only person left in Smallville with the kind of clout that would cause Perry to pay attention would have to be Pete._

After days living in a fog caused by Lana, Clark's investigative reporter's instincts had _finally_ kicked into gear. _But why would Pete push for that? He could have seen me anytime he wanted in the last twenty years. He's the one that left me, I was always open to his return…but someone __**else**__ in Smallville has been happy to see me, as happy as I've been to see her. I wonder if Lana leaned on Pete to make sure I showed up this time? Oh well, it doesn't really matter. Now that I'm here, I'm so glad I came._

Looking for something to keep Jimmy busy, Clark took him on a tour of the Smallville area. Much like the self-guided tour Clark went on two days earlier, Clark showed Jimmy the sights of his childhood. Clark would point out a particular site and then give Jimmy some time to exercise his photographic genius. Most of the time, Jimmy had no idea why he was photographing a particular site, like a lone oak tree on top of a low hill, a downtown coffee shop, an old farmhouse on the outskirts of town, or the _middle_ school. _Wasn't this supposed to be a __**high**__ school reunion? _Jimmy wondered.

After a late, leisurely lunch, Clark decided he'd better let Lana know what he was planning, so he and Jimmy headed back toward Hickory Lane, only this time, they drove past the old house that Nell used to own and headed to his old house.

"More pictures of another old house, Clark?" Jimmy asked.

"Not just _any _old house, Jimmy," Clark replied. "This is the house I grew up in." Then, as an aside, he threw in, "And Lois lived here for several months just after she graduated high school."

Clark watched Jimmy out of the corner of his eye and was rewarded when Jimmy sat up straighter and began to look at the farmhouse and grounds with renewed curiosity.

"Don't tell me you forgot that Lois lived in Smallville for a while when we were younger? It's where we first met!"

"Oh, I knew _that," _Jimmy said, "I just didn't know she had lived with you. I figured she would have lived with this cousin Chloe you two always mention."

Normally, any mention of Chloe in the context of the Daily Planet made Clark think of her journalistic drive and her love of big words. Today, however, being in Smallville for a high school reunion, bringing Chloe up unexpectedly like that was a painful blow.

"Normally she would have," Clark said, "but Chloe's dad was unemployed at the time and they didn't have any room for Lois, so she stayed with my family for a while." Clark then began to think of some way, however small, that he might be able to honor Chloe at the dinner and dance tonight.

By this time the crunch of well-compacted gravel underneath the Audi announced their arrival at Lana's house. As he pulled to a stop, Clark noticed a green Volkswagen Jetta parked behind Lana's truck, and as he and Jimmy climbed out, Lana came out of the house with someone else in tow.

When Clark approached, Lana said, "What an unexpected surprise, I didn't plan on seeing you until tonight." Jimmy was still back at the car, leaning into the back seat, deciding on which equipment he was going to need.

Clark leaned down for a quick kiss, and afterward, Lana made introductions, "Clark, this is my best friend, and fellow teacher, Evangeline Skala. She's here to help me get ready for tonight."

Turning back to Clark, Lana said, "Evangeline, this is Clark Kent. His family used to live in this house while I was growing up, and, I think it's safe to say, he's my boyfriend." Clark and Evangeline shook hands quickly and firmly, each curious to meet the other.

For her part, Evangeline wanted to meet the man Lana had been in love with all these years, the man who had unknowingly kept Lana from marrying Ben Simoneau. That breakup had to have happened ten years ago, but Evangeline could remember it like it was yesterday.

Clark was curious to see the type of people Lana had been surrounding herself with, since the old gang was not around any more. Pete spent most of his time in Washington, Chloe was dead, and Clark, of course, lived in Metropolis.

Just then, Jimmy came up the walk and joined the group. Clark said, "Ladies, this is Jimmy Olson. He's a co-worker of mine from the Daily Planet. Jimmy, these ladies are Lana Lang, who is the owner of this house, and her best friend, Evangeline Skala." Jimmy got his camera out of the way and shook hands with both of them.

Clark waited until Lana's hand was safely out of Jimmy's reach and said, "Furthermore, Lana holds the _dubious_ distinction of being my girlfriend."

Jimmy's eyes opened as wide as dinner plates and he reached for his camera. "Can I take a photo of you Miss Lang?"

"Jimmy," Clark said, "We're here to get some shots of the house. I seriously doubt Lana will want you to photograph her until she's had time to get ready. You _do_ remember what happened when you tried to photograph Lois at her apartment that one morning, don't you?"

Shuddering at the memory of the tirade Lois had unleashed that day, Jimmy reflexively hugged his camera close to his body and hoped Lana wouldn't try to repeat Lois' camera-smashing exhibition.

"No, that's okay, Clark," Lana said. "Jimmy can take some pictures if he wants to. I'm not ready for _tonight_ yet, but I'm already cleaned up and ready for a normal day, so a few photos will be fine."

"Really?" Jimmy asked in surprise, as he prepped his camera and flash. "Okay Miss Lang, if you'd just step over there…"

While Jimmy was keeping Lana busy, Evangeline took this golden opportunity to lay down the law. "You must be one amazing piece of work, Mr. Kent. The way Lana talks about you, the Pope is just a wannabe when it comes to being the best man around. In the sixteen years that I've known her, she's had dozens of suitors, some of whom were even half as good as they thought they were, but none of them could get through to her.

"Except for one.

"His name was Ben Simoneau. He was a pediatrician at a clinic here in town. They met at the Lowell County Fair ten or eleven years ago and dated for nearly a year before he proposed. She accepted and they were to be married the next April. I thought they were a golden couple. Everything was sailing along smoothly, and then, just weeks before the wedding, Ben called it off. One month more and he had left town for good. Lana said Ben called it off because he knew she didn't feel the same way about him as he felt about her.

"She's been alone a long time, and missed out on at least one really good man, because she wasn't able to get past the _boy_ who dumped her in college. She's waited for you. Don't you _dare _let her down again, Mr. Kent. She hasn't been this happy in…in_forever_ and it would crush her to have it all taken away."

Not sure how to take this dressing down, Clark said quietly, "I have no intention of hurting Lana. I'm here today trying to be the man Lana's always deserved…Miss, Mrs., or Ms?"

"Mrs."

"Okay, Mrs. Skala. I hope I can be the kind of man she deserves, though the Lord knows she deserves better than me."

"Something we _both_ agree on then," Evangeline said defiantly.

Definitely not happy with the continued hostility, Clark's eyes narrowed as he said, "Just so you know, my friends call me Clark…but you'd better keep calling me Mr. Kent."

A couple of minutes later, picture time with Lana was over and Jimmy moved on to photograph the house and, at Clark's direction, the barn.

As Lana rejoined her friends, she noticed the tension between the two most important people in her life, but chose to ignore it for the time being. Instead, she asked, "What's with having a photographer, Clark?"

Evangeline wanted to give Clark and Lana some time alone, so she went off with the avowed purpose of watching Jimmy work. Whatever her reason, Clark was just happy she was gone.

"Jimmy?" Clark said with a faint smile. "He's my cross to bear today. Lois came back from her vacation and found out I had been assigned to write a story on my 20th class reunion. She thought it would be hilarious to send Jimmy out to work with me."

"What's so bad about that?" Lana asked. "He seems to be a nice guy."

"Oh, Jimmy was _born_ nice," Clark replied, "he was also born talking, born talking, _and _born talking…did I mention he likes to talk? To top it off, he spends more time next to me than my shadow does. If he wasn't the best photographer I know, none of our reporters would work with him."

"Why did he want to take pictures of me?"

Clark scratched his head and gave Lana a wry look as he said, "Well…the sighting of a Clark Kent girlfriend is something akin to a Loch Ness monster sighting as far as my co-workers are concerned. Jimmy likely just wanted to come back with proof. According to Lois, there's an office pool going on and the winner is the one that comes closest to correctly picking the next time I go on a date."

"Wouldn't he need a picture of us _together _for that?"

"Yeah, but I bet he took a dozen shots of all three of us before he came up to join us. Jimmy plays dumb, but he's got good instincts to go along with his photography skills."

"I mean, us together _kissing_ or something. Surely, they'd need that, at _minimum_."

"Oh, so you're eager to give him something good to photograph? Far be it from me to disagree with you." Clark stepped right in front of Lana and said, "So, how do you want to do this? Should I put my hands on either side of your face and pull you in for a kiss like this?"

**kiisssssss**

"No, that won't work, my hands would block your face from his camera. How about I put my forefinger under your chin, like this, and lift your chin up for a kiss?"

**kisssssss**

"Well, that might not work, it might not look passionate enough. How about this one? I wrap my arms around you and dip you for a big, long kiss like this?"

**kkiiiissssssssssssss**

"Nope, not good enough, that would look staged, like something from an old Rudolph Valentino movie. I guess we'll just have to go with the old standby, you on your toes and me leaning over you, like this."

**kkiiisssssssss**

"Hopefully he'll do his job correctly and our unbridled passion will shine through."

Lana was pleasantly dazed and said, "I like practicing! Let's try that again."

"Which one?"

"All of them!"

"Well, okay," Clark said, "but I think Jimmy took enough pictures of us the first time around." He then pointed to where Jimmy and Evangeline were standing. Jimmy looked like he had just won a prize, and Evangeline was doubled over with laughter. After Jimmy finished photographing the house and barn, he and Clark headed back to the hotel, but not before Clark reaffirmed his plan to meet up with Lana at seven.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The Fairy Godmother

**Sunday evening - Clark's hotel room**

"Did you bring a change of clothes, Jimmy?" Clark asked, as he looked over Jimmy's current outfit of blue denim jeans and a blue and white vertically-striped oxford.

"Why?" Jimmy asked. "Did I spill something?" Jimmy was almost as careful with his clothes as he was with his cameras and the suggestion that something was wrong with his appearance caused him to begin checking himself for food stains.

"No, but you're going to look out of place tonight in what you're currently wearing, and I've only got an hour before I have to be at Lana's."

"Well…I did bring something. It's downstairs in my car. I'll get it and be back in a minute."

Clark handed Jimmy the key card for his room and got ready to take a shower. By the time Jimmy made it back with a garment bag slung over his shoulder, Clark was out of the shower and had another too-small hotel towel wrapped around his waist as he tried to do something with his hair.

_My hair has been an unruly mess for as long as I can remember, _Clark thought. _Oh well, if I remember correctly, Lana always liked it that way, and that's good enough for me._

After seeing Jimmy hang the garment bag from the clothes rack, Clark pointed his photographer to the shower. A new agony awaited Clark as he learned that Jimmy liked to sing in the shower and wasn't very good at it.

When it was time to leave, Jimmy was neatly attired in a tweed jacket, gray slacks, and his signature piece of clothing, a red bow tie. Clark shook his head, wondering if Jimmy would ever join the rest of the world and start wearing regular ties. Clark himself was wearing a custom-tailored two-button, single-breasted black suit jacket and slacks. His red tie stood out against the backdrop of a snowy white shirt, and he had just slapped on some cologne when Jimmy proclaimed himself ready to go.

While they rode down together in the elevator, Clark asked, "You _do_remember how to get to Lana's house, right?"

"Oh yeah," Jimmy replied, "once I've been somewhere once, I can find it again with no problem…but, aren't I following you over there?"

"Yeah, Jimmy, you are. I just want to be sure you can find it if we get separated in traffic."

"No worries, Clark. I'll be there."

**Sunday evening, Lana's house**

Meanwhile,Lana was sitting calmly in a chair in front of her vanity table and its three-sided mirror as Evangeline worked her magic with curling irons, and several different hair care products. By the time she was finished, Lana's hair was a silken confection of chocolate curls.

Lana clapped her hands in delight as she checked out her hair in the vanity table's mirrors. "Oh, Evangeline, you've outdone yourself. Thank you, thank you!"

"You've done the same for me several times, Lana. I'm only too happy to be able to return the favor."

After that, the two women chatted happily as Lana carefully applied her cosmetics. Just as she was putting on her final touches, Evangeline ventured to ask the question that had been bothering her since meeting Clark earlier in the day.

"Lana, this guy Clark has been the source of a lot of heartbreak for you, yet now you're as giddy as a school girl over him. Are you sure you're not setting yourself up for another fall? Once this dance is over, Mr. Big City will have to return to Metropolis and you'll still be here."

Lana finished with her lip liner and set it down on the vanity table before she replied. "This time is different, Evangeline. Don't ask me how I know, but it _is. _Clark is finally ready for me. In the last few days, he's let me inside in a way I could only wish for in the past. All the old barriers have come down and we're so comfortable together. We're meant for each other like bacon and eggs or…or peanut butter and jelly. I _love _him, I always have, and he loves me back."

"What's with the food similes? You're making me hungry."

"Well, I'm already hungry, so maybe that's it."

The two friends wrapped each other in a hug, with Evangeline taking extra care to not muss Lana's hair or makeup.

"Be careful, Girl," Evangeline said. "I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"No promises. If I'm not willing to take any chances, then where will I be? I'll tell you where: stuck in the same old rut I've been in for years."

"Go with God, Girl. I'll be praying for you…praying for the _both_of you."

All that remained was waiting for Prince Charming to arrive, but unlike Snow White, Lana wasn't in a magical coma and thus had to endure each minute as it slowly ticked by. When they heard Clark's car door shut out in the drive, Lana hurried into her closet and pulled out the little black cocktail dress she had picked out and pulled it on over her slip with help from Evangeline. She then put on her earrings, stepped into her shoes, grabbed her summer-weight shawl and headed downstairs.

Evangeline had gone ahead to let Clark in so he could see Lana make an entrance as she walked down the stairs. All he was capable of saying was, "Oh…"

Evangeline looked up at Lana and said to herself, "Why do I feel like Cinderella's fairy godmother right now?"

Clark's look of unalloyed adoration brought a smile to Lana's face as she stepped off the stairs to stand right in front of her man. "Hi, Clark," she said shyly.

Offering her his arm, Clark said, "Wow. Each time I see you, you're more beautiful than the last."

Taking his proffered arm, Lana replied, "You're looking pretty good yourself, Clark. I never got that many chances to see you play dress up when we were younger, but you do it well."

Lana thought they were headed straight out to Clark's car, but changed that idea when she saw Jimmy setting up a portable flash/reflector in the kitchen.

"What's this?" Lana asked, as she pointed to Jimmy's gear.

"Well," Clark replied, "as I recall, we didn't get any pictures taken the last time we were at a dance, so I decided to make use of Jimmy's talents. Though the image of that white satin dress is still burned in my mind, I would like something more tangible to have. A picture or two that I can place on my desk at work, and on my bedside table at home. What do you think?"

"That sounds very nice. We never had a sitting for pictures when we were dating, and a picture of us together is better than a picture of just you any day."

Jimmy spent the next five minutes arranging them in different poses and taking several shots of each pose. When finished, he popped the memory card out of its slot and placed it into an empty slot in his camera case.

While he dismantled his flash/reflector, Jimmy said, "I can have 8"x10" prints of these shots ready sometime tomorrow. Or better yet, Clark, I'll send thumbnail shots to your e-mail account, and you and Miss Lang can choose the ones you want to be full-sized."

"That sounds great, Jimmy," Clark said. "Thanks."

Lana echoed Clark by saying. "Yes, Jimmy, thank you very much."

Evangeline shooed Lana and Clark on their way, promising to use her key and lock up after Jimmy left. She had just stood back to watch during the photo shoot and, despite herself, was affected by the way Lana and Clark interacted. Small touches, subtle glances, the way they seemed to fit together as they stood for their pictures. She began to hope that this time _would _be different for her best friend.

As the happy couple left, Evangeline asked, "Jimmy, would you tell me something of what Mr. Kent is like in Metropolis?"

Jimmy looked up from storing the flash/reflector unit and said, "Clark the writer is brilliant, hard-nosed, relentless, one of the best in the business…but I _don't_ think that's what you're asking about."

Jimmy gathered his equipment together and sat it in a pile on the kitchen table as he collected his thoughts. "Clark is renowned for the privacy of his personal life. No one except his writing partner, Lois Lane, even knows where he lives. The only reason _she_ knows is because they dated off and on for a couple of years."

"Why didn't they work out? A couple of years is a pretty long time."

"I'm not sure, but they never even got engaged." Jimmy shrugged his shoulders and took a seat at the table, as he said, "Scuttlebutt around the office said Clark was holding on to someone else, some_where_ else. Is Miss Lang the one?"

Evangeline smiled and said, "I think so, Jimmy, I think so."

"Anyway, about Clark. He's the best friend a person could ask for. He _thinks_he's mean to me and I just don't know it, but the truth is, he just has a rough way of teasing me. He's extremely supportive of me personally and professionally. If I need help with something, Clark is the one that's there first, the one that stays the longest, and the one that's last to leave. He never asks for anything in return, doesn't keep count of the number of times he's helped me, and always deprecates his own contributions as being 'nothing.'" Jimmy shifted in his seat. "It's not just me, but everyone I know in the office feels the same way…even Lois, if you catch her on a good day. If I live to be one hundred, I'll_never_ be the man that Clark is, but I'll keep trying."

Jimmy stared Evangeline straight in the eyes and said, "If Miss Lang takes him away from his friends in Metropolis, I hope she's worthy of him."

Evangeline had begun to revise her opinion of Clark during Jimmy's speech, and raised her hopes for Lana just a little bit. It looked more and more like the light at the end of Lana's romantic tunnel was going to be daylight and not an oncoming train.

**Sunday evening - Smallville Middle School**

Clark and Lana stood in wonder as they looked at their old high school. A bright red banner that hung over the front doors was splashed with large yellow letters that read, 'Welcome Back, Class of 2005. Go Crows!'

The outside of the old building was lit with flood lamps that cast a warm glow on the sand colored building.

"It's been more than half a lifetime ago," Lana said, "but it seems like only yesterday that you, Chloe, and I left this building for the last time."

"Yeah," Clark said, "I wonder what memories are waiting inside for us?"

Lana grabbed his hand and said, with a playful tone in her voice, "Let's go see."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Far Away

**Sunday evening - Smallville Middle School**

Clark and Lana had arrived early for just this purpose: wandering up and down the halls and reliving old memories. They stopped for long moments at each of their old lockers and reminisced about this happening or that.

"One thing I remember about us and this locker of mine that you don't," Lana said, "was the day senior year that you walked up to me, having lost all memory of me…of _us_…and ended up begging for another chance, because 'this time will be different.' Jason and I were at an end in everything but name and you came along_knowing, _without any reason to, that we belonged together."

"I wish I remembered that," Clark said quietly.

Later, as they passed by the room that used to house The Torch, Clark cracked a smile and said, "I remember something about you that _you_don't remember."

Curious, Lana turned her head toward him and asked, "Yeah? What?"

"Just one word should do for now…Nicodemus."

Lana's brow furrowed as she tried to place that word. "Nicodemus…Nicodemus…why does that sound familiar?"

"Oh, I don't know, but _I _remember a girl who stormed into school one day wearing a black, floral-print tank top, a black miniskirt, and knee-high boots. I thought she was pretty sexy."

Remembrance struck Lana like a lightning bolt out of a clear blue sky. "Ohhhhhhh! I remember now! Well, I don't remember what I _did, _but everyone was quick to tell me after I got out of the hospital. I spent a long time apologizing to Lex, and Whitney, and my co-workers at the Talon."

Clark just waited and was rewarded when Lana said, "I don't remember you telling me any stories about what I did to you. In fact, I seem to remember you saying I hadn't done anything to you at all. Was that _another_ lie, Clark?"

"Nope," said a grinning Clark. "You asked if you had done anything to me that you needed to know about. I was my judgment that you didn't need to be embarrassed anymore than you already were, so I kept that story to myself."

Lana's hands shot to her face as she tried to hide her embarrassment. "What did I do?" she asked.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Well…yes, I guess so. You told me your big secrets, I suppose you can tell me_my _secrets, too."

"Okay." Clark paused as he considered the best way to pass along the essentials while holding down the embarrassment quotient. Finally, he said, "Just after you dumped Whitney, you came to the Torch to find me. I had skipped out on class that day because my dad was in the hospital."

"I remember that. He had been affected by the Nicodemus flower, too."

"Yeah, he had been, only we didn't know about that flower at the time and were totally lost when it came to what was wrong. Anyway, you came in the door looking like some hormonal fantasy of mine come to life and you tried to cheer me up."

"How'd I do that?" Lana asked. "I'm curious because helping someone else was out of character for _that _version of me."

"Well…you dragged me off to the school swimming pool…and then you decided to go swimming."

"Swimming? I didn't even have a suit at school, so how'd I go swimming?"

Clark just held her gaze and let her mind answer the question for her.

"Oh! Oh, oh, oh!" Lana said. "Please tell me I didn't actually get into the pool."

"You did, and the lack of a suit only slowed you down for the amount of time it took to strip to your undies. I can still remember the way you looked in that lingerie…maybe _that's_ why I've always been partial to the color red."

"Oh…my…God! I can't believe what a _tramp_ I was that day! I came on to Whitney, you, and even Lex. Unbelievable!"

By this time, they had circled around to the gym and they peered through the door to take in the decorations.

"Remember the last time we danced here?" Lana asked.

"Oh yeah, how could I forget? It was only one dance, but it was the one dance I had been wanting. For four years I had imagined being with you at our senior prom."

"Me too. I was so nervous. I showed up late, not having originally intended to go, and was wondering what I had been thinking of to show up after all, when I saw you walking over to me. At first I thought you were just coming over to say hello, but when you extended your hand and asked for a dance, I was so happy. I think I floated inches off the ground all through that dance."

"We could sneak inside and dance to that song again," Clark said. "I'm sure they've got a full list of music from when we were in school and it won't take me long to find the right song."

Lana pulled Clark back from the door. As they headed toward the cafeteria, and the catered dinner that awaited them, Lana said, "Thanks for the idea, Clark, but I'd rather wait to dance to that song, and many others, when everyone else is with us."

Curious, Clark asked, "Any particular reason?"

"Yeah, the last time I had a solitary dance with a guy in that gym, it was with Whitney the day of the spring formal during freshman year. I was getting ready to drive him to the bus station, but we danced together one last time." Lana looked up at Clark with tears welling in her eyes as she said, "It was the last time I saw him alive and I don't believe I should be tempting fate by sneaking in for one more solitary dance. I couldn't bear it if you left now."

Clark stopped Lana in the middle of the hall and raised her face to his. "I'm not going anywhere, Lana, for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me."

"Clark? What are you saying?" asked a stunned Lana.

"It means I'm committed to making 'us' work, Lana. When tomorrow comes, I'll write my article and turn it in to Perry at the same time I turn in my resignation. I don't know what I'll do with the rest of my life, but I know I want to do it with you."

Lana looked at Clark as if unable to believe what she had just heard. She then asked, "Clark? Was that a marriage proposal?"

"Mmm…not yet, you might call it a promise though and I guess I've already given you a ring, so that can be your promise ring. As for a proposal, I want to do that the right way. Also, I need to give you enough time for you to be really sure I'm still what you want. I don't think two and a half days is quite enough."

Lana thought, _Try nineteen years, Clark, that's how long I've known, how long I've been sure. Just ask me already!_ What she said, however, was, "Where'd you come up with that quote in such an archaic form of English?"

"College…I had to take an elective in literature, so I took 'Literature of the Bible.' You'd be surprised how often I use stuff I learned in that class in my articles."

As they neared the cafeteria, Clark could hear some music playing softly, but was not able to place the song until they entered the doors and saw a banner hanging on the far wall. It said, "Far Away - The Class of 2005 comes home."

"'Far Away,' by Nickelback, is the _theme_ of this reunion?" Clark asked.

"Yeah, Didn't you know? It's supposed to stand for all the people who had to come so far to get back here. It also stands for those of us who have gone so far in our personal lives since we graduated…kind of like you."

Clark heard what Lana said, but his mind was focused on the lyrics of the song which had another meaning entirely. Here, in this time and place, what he had done to her, done to both of them, finally sank in, and it threatened to crush him beneath its weight. His face sank into his hands and he was unabashedly crying. Concerned, Lana pulled him to the side of the room and shooed off anyone who tried to approach.

"What's wrong, Clark?" she asked

"That's the exact wrong song _and_ the exact _right_ song for me to hear right now," Clark replied. "It says _everything_. 'Who was I to make you wait?' _Exactly_ right! And the chorus. 'I love you. I've loved you all along. And I miss you, been far away for far too long. I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go. Stop breathing if  
I don't see you anymore.'

"When Lex died, when my legitimate excuses ran out, I should have come racing back here to _beg_ you to take me back. But I was too proud…and much too scared. So, I took solace in assuming you had found someone else to make you happy." Clark paused and then said, more softly, "Afraid to risk my heart, I ended up hurting both of us…how can you ever forgive me?"

Lana leaned over her boyfriend as he slumped down on his haunches and said, "What _else_ does that song say, Clark? I'll tell you. It says, 'I love you. I have loved you all along. And I forgive you, for being away for far too long. So keep breathing, 'cause I'm not leaving you any more. Believe it. Hold on to me and never let me go.'"

When Clark looked up at her, she said, "I forgive you, and yes, Clark, I will marry you, whenever you get around to proposing to me."

"Did you just _accept?" _asked a confused Clark.

"Oh yes, and some day you'll get around to proposing, and _then_ it will be official, but I've already accepted." Lana then reached into her clutch purse and pulled out the ring that Clark had made for her in the Fortress of Solitude.

As she tried to put it on, she dropped it, but Clark snatched it out of the air and said, "Here, let me." He sank down on one knee in the old Smallville High cafeteria and said, "Lana, my love for you is stronger than ever. I am humbled by your strength and your constancy. To have held onto me through all our years apart is more than I deserve, but I'll be damned if I'll let it go to waste. Will you allow me to become your husband? Will you marry me?"

Lana nodded her head furiously, signaling _Yes,_ and held out her left hand. Clark stood and slid the diamond solitaire on her ring finger, and they collapsed into each other's arms kissing and crying, a celebration of the culmination of a more than twenty-year-long love story.

A few people had been watching from nearby, having been concerned ever since Clark started crying. The men were somewhat slow on the uptake, but the women knew right away what had happened. They didn't know the stories of the people involved, but they knew that Lana Lang and Clark Kent had just become engaged.

Clark and Lana finally collected themselves and turned back to the room only to receive a round of heartfelt applause from their small crowd of onlookers.

"We really need to work on this proposal business, Lana," Clark said quietly. "The first time around, I proposed in a panic right after telling you everything. This time, I proposed _after _you accepted. This just isn't a very romantic way of doing things."

"Clark. The only thing truly needed for romance, is two hearts that beat as one. Everything else is just gravy." Lana's eyes were shining as she said, "Besides, if you think I'm letting you off the hook just so you can propose again, you're seriously mistaken."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Come Dancing

**Sunday evening - Smallville Middle School cafeteria**

As the Class of 2005 continued to file into the cafeteria, Lana was bouncing with excitement. A small, but ever-changing crowd clung to her and Clark like fly paper. Apparently, word of their spontaneous engagement was spreading and people were coming by to offer their congratulations. Lana, of course, made sure everyone got a look at her ring. Even though jewelry wasn't something Lana had much use for these days, she was thrilled to show off this particular piece, and the women dutifully oohed and aahed over it as though they had never seen an engagement ring before.

Still, Lana kept searching the crowd for Pete and Charisse, but due to the fact that she was 'vertically-challenged,' as she and Evangeline liked to put it, seeing anything more than those entering the door was a near-impossibility.

Then she remembered who she was with.

"Clark?" she asked hopefully.

Clark stepped away from a group that was listening to a heartfelt recitation of his accidental proposal, with a quick, "Excuse me, please," and asked Lana, "Yes, Dearest?"

"Could you, umm, _see _if Pete and Charisse are coming? I can't see them through this crowd and I don't want to miss them."

"Huh? I'm taller, but the crowd is pretty thick right now, so…_oh _you mean _look_. Sorry, Lana. I'll let you know when I see them."

"Thanks, Clark."

Clark turned his eyes on the crowd filing in through the doors, using his x-ray vision to quickly scan through the crowd for his childhood buddy and his wife. Clark had sorted through half of the people waiting in the hall before spotting his quarry patiently waiting their turn.

"They're in line out in the hall, Lana," Clark said, "they'll be in here in a minute or two."

Lana looked back up at Clark and said, "Thanks, Hawkeye."

Clark turned back to Lana with a look of surprise on his face and she held his gaze for a second before winking and giving him a mischievous grin. A minute later, and Clark spotted the Rosses entering the cafeteria. He caught their attention with a wave and signaled for them to come on over.

"Here they come, Lana," Clark said quietly.

"Oooh, hurry, take my hand," Lana said as she stepped to Clark's side and held out her right hand.

He clasped her proffered hand with his left one and they stood side by side, each a little flushed from the excitement of the past few minutes, and smiled eagerly at their close friends as the Rosses edged their way to the front of the knot of well-wishers. Once Pete and Charisse came to a stop, Lana strategically placed her left hand on Clark's chest to show off the sparkling diamond ring.

"We wanted you two to hear it from us first, if at all possible given this crowd," Lana said, "but we're engaged!"

The Rosses both went wide-eyed and looked at each other in disbelief. Charisse then turned to Lana and started squealing. That set Lana off, too, and the two women began jumping for joy as they held on to each other's forearms.

Pete approached Clark, and, seeing his red eyes, said, "Clark? Crying after successful marriage proposals is something the _girls _do. What's up?"

Clark smiled and launched into another retelling of his accidental proposal. "You've got it all backward, Pete. The way it happened is, first I started crying, then Lana accepted my proposal, and _then_I proposed to her."

Pete pursed his lips as he tried to wrap his brain around that statement. Finally, he said, "Sounds like _you're _the one that's got it backward, Clark. The proposal is _definitely _supposed to come before the acceptance…I guess Lana was afraid of having to wait for you to work up the nerve." Pete shook his head before clapping Clark on the back. "In any case, congratulations, Clark. You're finally on the right track."

The dinner was a fast-moving montage of food and friends. Everyone seemed to have heard the news and wanted to offer their congratulations, making it tough to do more than sneak in the occasional bite of food while their well-wishers were taking breaths.

At last the dinner and the associated awards program (who came from the farthest away to be there, who has the most kids, etc.) were done with and the couples rose as one and headed to the gym for the dance.

Clark and Lana walked with Pete and Charisse to the gym. Once inside, Pete pulled Lana aside for a ferocious hug and Charisse told Clark, "I don't know you that well yet, Clark. But Pete thinks the world of you and Lana _obviously_ does too, so I think we'll get along just fine." With that, she stood on her toe tips and kissed him on the cheek.

As the four friends headed to find a place to sit when not dancing, and a place for the ladies to place their wraps and clutch purses, Pete looked around and said, "Where's the DJ? We need to get this party started!"

Clark shot Pete a look and said, "You could step into the booth, Pete. I seem to remember you having some DJ skills."

"Yeah," Lana added, "just as long as there's not another Talon mix coming out right after the dance."

Clark and Lana began laughing while Pete said, "Hey! I worked hard on that!"

"Uh huh," Clark said, "but how many of them did you _sell? _Five? Six?"

"I sold _ten." _

"What you sold to your Mom doesn't count, Pete," Clark replied.

"That wouldn't have been so bad, except the Talon had paid for all of those discs to be made, in hopes of increasing the amount of money raised that night." Lana shrugged her shoulders and said, "Instead, the Talon had to eat the loss."

Pete began grinning and said to Charisse, "Now you know why I never pursued a career in music. These two are right. That CD didn't sell very well and I wouldn't waste my time trying to put another one together for sale."

Charisse had been enjoying watching people treat her husband as their friend first and as a Congressman a distant second. _Pete doesn't get ribbed often enough, _she thought. _Friends that can help keep Pete grounded are invaluable. _ Then she thought about Lana and Clark. Lana was normally quite reserved, especially in public, but Clark seemed to be able to get her to open up and show the vibrant personality that Charisse had only seen glimpses of before.

With the crowd settled in, the DJ stepped into place and began the dance by playing the reunion's theme song, "Far Away" by Nickelback. Clark and Lana immediately headed out to the dance floor for that song which was followed by the up-tempo, "Beautiful Day" by U2.

The dance was progressing well. Clark and Lana had both chuckled after the second dance when Lana pointed out they had already done more dancing together than during the rest of their lives combined. That brought their thoughts to the one song they _had _to dance to and Clark volunteered to make sure the DJ had "You and Me" by Lifehouse on his play list.

While half-shouting at the DJ over the blaring music and confirming that 'their song' was coming up, Clark also made a special request. The DJ had to flip through his song catalog for a minute before finding the song Clark wanted. The DJ smiled and added it to his play list. A $20 bill helped that song rocket up the play list so that it would be next.

When Clark returned, Lana asked, "What took so long and what was it that required money to change hands?"

"Oh," Clark replied, "thinking about our special song made me think about another special song. Soooo, when that song comes up, and it should be next, I'll need a favor from you."

"Sure. What is it?"

"I need to dance to that song alone."

"Okay," Lana said. "Mind telling me why though?"

Just then, the current song faded away and the DJ said over the loudspeakers, "This next song is by special request…it's 'Perfect Memory' by Remy Zero."

Hearing that Clark hurriedly said, "I'll tell you when the song is over, but I need to do this right now."

As a small and intensely personal tribute to the woman who lost her life because she got caught between Lex and himself, Clark walked out onto the dance floor, held his left arm out as if holding an imaginary hand, wrapped his right arm around an imaginary waist, and danced to the special song he had danced to with Chloe all those years ago. To anyone watching, he was all by himself, but in his mind, Chloe was with him, sharing that dance.

Pete and Charisse had come back to take a seat for a song or two and Pete wondered where Clark was. When Lana explained, the sound of the song made something click in his mind and he told her this was Chloe's favorite song during freshman year and that Clark had made a special request for it to be played by Remy Zero at the spring formal the day of the tornado.

When the song reached the chorus, Clark started singing along, ever so softly, his lips barely moving. "And I'll remember you, and the things that we used to do, and the things that we used to say. I'll remember you…that way."_  
_

By the time the song finished, Clark was an emotional wreck. Tears were trickling down his face but he was wearing a huge smile. Now knowing what Clark had been doing, Lana went out to meet him and walked him back to their seats.

Clark tried to explain, saying, "I was just…I tried to…I needed…,"

But when the right words would not come, Lana stopped him, saying, "I know, Clark. Pete told me. I think it's wonderful that you want to honor Chloe, to make her a part of this reunion in some way. I loved her, too. She was my housemate for almost two years and my closest girlfriend."

Clark responded with a smile as they sat down and said, "I knew you'd understand, and yes, I wanted to bring her here in some way other than the traditional reading of the names of classmates that have died since graduation. She was more than just another name."

While Pete and Charisse returned to the dance floor, Clark and Lana sat out another couple of dances to allow Clark to collect himself. When they stood up to return to the dance, though, the first strains of "You and Me" by Lifehouse issued forth from the sound system and they hurried to find a spot on the floor.

By the time they were set, the words were just ready to begin. Their eyes locked as Clark's hand settled on Lana's waist and from then to the end of the song, no one else existed. For them, it truly was just 'you and me.'

They swayed gently in a small circle, unconsciously keeping time with the beat. Just as happened twenty years earlier, Lana pulled in close and settled her head against Clark's chest, her smile radiating pure contentment and joy. Once again, Clark felt that everything was coming together, just as it had all those many years ago.

When the song finished, Lana and Clark kept dancing, mindless of the people moving on and off the dance floor around them. When the next song started up, they regretfully broke their tight clinch. Clark looked into Lana's eyes and said, "I still don't know what it is, this special love we share, but after nineteen years apart, we still have it."

Reaching up for a kiss, Lana said, "Most definitely."

**kkkkiiiiiisssssssssssss**

By the end of the dance and the official end of the reunion, Lana's feet were sore from all of the dancing in high heels, but she really did not notice until they began climbing the stairs to the loft. She had made sure the barn doors were bolted before climbing the stairs because it would not do to have an interruption now.

After Clark rubbed Lana's sore feet, they cuddled on the sofa and talked quietly about their future together. Clark assured her that he was serious about resigning from The Daily Planet. 'Home is where the heart is' is an old saying, and for Clark, his heart had always been with Lana. He was not sure what job he would take on next, but anything that kept him in Smallville with her was preferable to any job anywhere else. As for Lana, she was thrilled that Clark was coming home.

"This house and barn are as much yours as they are mine," she said. "Having you here, as my husband, will be everything I've ever dreamed of…I love you...I _need_ you."

Clark breathed in her scent, and said, "At last, everything seems to be in alignment for us. No one to get in the way, no one for me to be worried about, nothing but you and me. I love you, Lana."

After canoodling with Lana for quite sometime, Clark said, "I'd better go to my hotel. If this goes on any longer, I won't be able to restrict myself to just kissing and cuddling."

As Clark began to rise, Lana kept hold of his hand and stopped him. When he turned back to her, she said "Who says you _have _to restrict yourself? Stay. Please."

Clark smiled at her, uncertainly at first, but when she rose to meet him and laid her strongest, most passionate kiss of the night on him,**kkkkkkiiiiiiiiissssssssssss** he responded in kind. When they broke apart, each gasping for air, Lana asked, "Clark? Would you help me with my dress?"

Surprised, Clark said, "Umm…Lana? There doesn't seem to be much room on that sofa and the floorboards would be hard for you and…"

Lana put a stop to his rambling with a quick kiss. **kiss** "Silly man, that sofa over there is a sofa _bed_. Once we open it, there will be plenty of room…Now, are you going to help with my dress, or not?"

"Yes, ma'am!"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The Morning After

**Monday morning - Lana's loft**

When Monday morning rolled around, Clark and Lana woke up where they had always wanted to be…in each other's arms. It was not until she lazily wondered what time it was that she remembered it was Monday morning and she had to be at work by the 8:30 a.m. start of class.

Clark quickly fished through his pile of clothes to find his watch, while Lana hurriedly pulled on her dress so she could run across to the house to shower and dress for school. Just as her head popped through the top of the dress, Clark grabbed his watch and said, "It's about ten 'til eight."

That was all Lana needed to hear as she gathered up the rest of her clothes, wrapped them in her shawl and raced across the yard to her back door. _I can still make it if I hurry, _she thought. _Leave it to a man, especially __**that**__ man, to completely tie my wits into a knot._

By the time Lana finished her morning ablutions and pulled on an outfit of no-nonsense slacks and a simple blouse, Clark had set out a glass of orange juice next to a blueberry bagel which had been sliced in half and slathered with cream cheese.

Lana's hair was still wet and she had no time to dry it properly, so she left it down in the hope that it would be dry by the end of first period. She headed downstairs after slipping into her shoes and saw that, by her watch, she had enough time; it was still a good 20 minutes before school started. The pounding of Lana's shoes on the treads of the stairway announced her imminent presence and Clark straightened up behind his breakfast offering.

Lana stopped when she saw Clark's smiling face. When she saw the small breakfast he had laid out for her, she thought, _Awwwww…he's so sweet._

In between bites and swallows, Clark and Lana managed a hurried conversation. Clark decided to stay in Smallville one more day so he could write his article and he wanted to write it in the place where always did his best thinking, the loft. Lana assured him that the desk up there had plenty of light and a couple of wall outlets so he would be able to plug in his laptop.

Popping the last bit of bagel in her mouth, Lana grabbed her everyday purse, dumped the contents of her clutch purse from the night before inside, and headed for the door. Clark stopped her just as she made it to the door by placing his hand on her shoulder. She turned, wondering what he wanted, and Clark used his fingers to lift a small glob of cream cheese from the corner of Lana's mouth.

"There," Clark said. "now you're perfect."

She stared intently into the blue-green sea of his eyes, and forgot for a moment where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. Clark leaned in for a kiss and Lana stretched up to meet his lips halfway.

**kiss**

Clark looked at his watch again and said, "You'd better hurry, Lana, you've only got 15 minutes."

That broke her trance, and she said, "Oh…right…school. See you this afternoon?"

"Count on it," Clark said.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Lana turned and opened the door, but, before leaving, she asked, "Clark? Would you pinch me?"

"Sure thing." With that, Clark reached down and deftly goosed her. Lana jumped and Clark asked, "Was that what you had in mind?"

"Not quite," she said as she surreptitiously rubbed her bum, "but it will do." _He pinched me and I didn't wake up! It's real! This is really happening!_

During the drive to school, Lana made an extra effort to concentrate on her driving. She could not afford to have a wreck just because Clark Kent was fogging her brain. Clark, meanwhile, went back to the loft to clean up, including pulling the sheets from the sofa bed and washing them. After he got the load of sheets started, he headed over to his hotel to shower, change into something fresh, gather his belongings and check out.

An hour later, he was back at Lana's and had moved the sheets into the dryer. Pleased to find that Lana had her house set up for wireless internet access, Clark turned on his laptop to check his e-mail while he waited for the sheets to dry. Deleting the normal array of junk mail, he finally reached the ones he had been looking for, the ones from Jimmy containing the thumbnail shots from last night.

As he scrolled down the page, one thing quickly became clear, besides taking photos at the house, Jimmy had clearly gotten into the gym during the dance as there were numerous shots of Clark and Lana dancing, talking with the Rosses, drinking punch as they sat, or just looking into each other's eyes.

Clark could only admire the initiative Jimmy had shown by doing this on his own, and he quickly e-mailed Jimmy back, thanking him for his hard work, and telling him that Lana would help choose the pictures they would want when she came back.

Then, he e-mailed Perry to tell him he was going to be gone one more day so he could properly write his article. Finally, he e-mailed Lois, telling her he needed one more day in Smallville and that he had important news to relay, but it was the kind that had to wait for a face-to-face conversation.

After that, Clark took the sheets out of the dryer and remade the sofa bed before folding it up and reseating the cushions. He then setup his laptop on the desk in the loft and, after pouring himself a tall glass of iced tea, sat down to write his article.

**Monday afternoon - Smallville High**

When Lana had entered her classroom this morning, with three minutes to spare, she saw the pile of still ungraded sketches, she had groaned, remembering she had intended to come in early this morning and get them done. Luckily for her, that had been the only class of hers that had anything to be graded, so she had been able to get that done during her lunch hour.

During her one free period, which was at the same time as Evangeline's free period, Lana met her best friend in the teachers' lounge. Lana hid her ring from sight until she was asked how the dance went. Lana's face burst into a huge smile and she held out her ring for Evangeline to see.

"Is that…? Could that be…?" and finally, "Are you and Clark_engaged?"_

"Yes!"

The two women leaned over toward each other from their chairs and hugged. The rest of the free period was taken up with a step-by-step replay of the events of the dance. When Lana reached the part where she accepted and Clark proposed, Evangeline laughed out loud, when Lana told about Clark's solo dance, Evangeline wanted to cry, and when Lana loosely sketched out what happened later in the loft, Evangeline's eyes opened wide and she blurted out, "Lana Lang got some action? You go girl!"

When the story was complete, Evangeline said, "He sounds sweet, looks like Adonis, and that photographer Jimmy had nothing but good things to say about him," Evangeline said. "Other than the fact that he's made you wait for nearly twenty years, I'd say he was perfect for you." Squeezing Lana's hands tightly with her own, Evangeline asked, "Are you _sure _this is the right guy?"

Lana quickly nodded her head and said, "Oh yes, he's _always_ been the right man, ever since we first became close in high school."

"Then hold him close and don't let him go. God go with you."

--------------------

By the time her last class of the day rolled around, Lana was becoming impatient. There was a man with impossibly kissable lips out there and he was waiting for her to come home. When the final bell sounded, Lana was out of her classroom before any of her students were and she was home in record time.

Even though Clark had said he was going to be there, she gave a deep sigh of relief when she pulled up and saw his car still in the drive. Having Clark around when she wanted him to be there, instead of just when she needed him to be there, was going to take some getting used to on her part, but she relished having the chance to do so.

Lana rushed up the stairs to the loft, anxious to see her man. She was met on the first landing by Tall, Dark, and Handsome, who literally swept her off her feet for a bearhug and a thorough kissing. Easing her back down, they proceeded to the desk where Clark had the final copy of his last article for The Daily Planet.

"Here," Clark said, as he offered Lana the desk chair, "I'd like for you to go ahead and read this."

Lana sat down and began a careful reading of his work. As she came to the end minutes later, Lana was softly reading the words out loud, "…and thus, I went home to Smallville expecting to see glimpses of a past long gone. Instead, I found my future…all 5 feet, 4 inches of it.

"Thank you one and all for reading my work in The Daily Planet these past sixteen years. This story is my last one. It is time for me to move on with my life and to pursue the future I found in Smallville.

"I'll miss you all. Good bye."

Lana looked up from the laptop screen and said, "That was beautiful, Clark. You have a way with words. I'm sorry you're giving up writing."

"Oh, I'm not giving up writing, I may see if the Smallville Ledger needs a reporter that can knowledgeably cover everything from sales at the Livestock Auction Barn, to the meetings of the city council. Alternatively, I could do some free-lancing." Clark paused and squatted down on his haunches to look Lana right in the eye. "More and more, I'm convinced that my next project should be to write Superman's official biography. It's time for that part of me to retire. The world has taken enough of my time already, I need to devote the rest of my life to you."

Lana was thrilled that he wanted to be around more, but aghast that he wanted to hang up the cape and the spandex tights. _The world needs him, _she thought. _Can't he see that?_

She thought at a furious pace, while Clark shut down his word processor and turned off his laptop. By the time he had slid the laptop back into its padded carrying case, she was ready.

"Maybe you don't have to quit, Clark. Maybe you can just cut back."

"Huh?"

"Quit responding to _every_ mugging, bank robbery, and car-jacking…that's what the police are for. Instead, save your appearances for the real emergencies, where _only_ Superman can save the day. That way, you'll have the best of both worlds: you'll spend most of your time here in Smallville and yet you'll still be able to help the people of Earth when they need you most."

Clark tilted his head and smiled, saying, "You're serious, aren't you? You actually want me to keep up the pretense that Superman is alive."

Lana expression became deadly serious as she said, "Yes. I am serious, and don't you _dare_ say that Superman is not alive, because he's alive in the heart of everyone that believes in him. He gives hope to the helpless, and courage to the meek. Superman is the best of what hides deep inside us all. Don't take him away from us now."

Clark looked down at the floor, unable to meet Lana eyes, and said, "It's not the quiet retirement I had hoped for, but I'll think about it."

"Good. Now, what are we having for dinner?"

"My turn, huh?"

"Yup," Lana said, "I want to see what you've learned in the kitchen."

"How does macaroni and cheese grab you?

"Not_quite _what I had in mind, Clark."

"Well then," Clark said, "I'll have to think of something else." He thought for a few seconds before saying, "my second choice is a meal consisting of French onion soup, a field-greens salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing, almond-crusted trout poached in milk, and a chocolate torte for dessert."

Lana's jaw dropped to the floor and she said, "You can _do _that?"

"Yeah, all except for the torte. I'll have to fly to Vienna to get that. There's this little bakery there that is to die for. They do things with chocolate there that ought to be illegal. It's a good thing I can't gain weight or I'd be Super_fat_man by now." Looking at his fiancée, Clark said, "Go on into the house and get changed into something comfortable, then do something for yourself, like maybe come up here and curl up with a good book. Making this dinner will take awhile."

Lana looked over at the sofa and said, "I may never look at that sofa the same way ever again."

"That shouldn't pose you any difficulties tonight. This time you'll be curled up on top of the cushions instead of stretched out on top of the mattress." He winked at Lana and then said, "By the way, I washed the sheets and remade the bed, so it's all ready for 'next time.'"

Lana stood up and Clark stood with her. They wrapped each other in a hug as Lana said, "You're awfully confident there's going to _be_a next time."

"Confident? I'm _counting _on it."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 - The End?

**Tuesday morning - Lana's kitchen**

Having gotten up at a decent hour this morning, due to sleeping in her own bed where she had a bedside alarm clock, Lana was looking over the morning paper while eating a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast that Clark had made while she was in the shower.

The second night in bed with her man had been every bit as exciting as the first. So, while Lana was _awake_ this morning,that did not mean she had actually gotten much sleep. That being true, she was more interested in the contents of her extra-large coffee mug than she was in the breakfast.

After breakfast, Lana dressed while Clark showered. While Clark dressed, they discussed their plans. He had to return to Metropolis for a couple of days to set his affairs in order. He had promised Pete and Charisse that he would drop them off at Metropolis International Airport for their return flight to Washington D.C.

After that came Metropolis itself. First, he needed to turn in his article and his expense report to Perry. At the same time, he would officially resign. After that, Clark had to break his lease and arrange for movers to pack his belongings. Not trusting the movers more than he had to, Clark was then going to box up his most precious belongings and bring them back with him. Lana wished she could come with him and help, but school was in session and the academic calendar did not have any room on it for Clark Kent.

Their conversation ended with Clark gently holding Lana's face and saying, "It'll only be for a couple of days, three at the very most. We've made it through nineteen years apart, I think we can handle two more days."

"I know we _can, _Clark, problem is, I don't want to. Now that I have you back, I don't want to be without you. I want to wake up with my back pressed against your chest and the moist heat of your breath tickling my ear."

Wanting this as much as she did, Clark came up with a solution. "There's nothing for it then, I'll just have to fly home every night to you and return to Metropolis early the next morning. That way, we get to be together, at least for a short while, and I can still get my work done. How does that sound?"

**kiss**

"Wonderful, Clark, absolutely wonderful."

By nine o'clock, Lana had been teaching for half an hour and Clark was out of Smallville barreling eastward on Interstate 70 toward Metropolis with both of the Rosses sitting in the back seat. Clark had insisted they sit together instead of one of them sitting with him.

"Thanks for driving us, Clark," Pete said. "Otherwise, one of the staffers in my local office would have the unenviable job of chauffeuring the boss…and her husband."

Charisse swatted Pete on the arm and rolled her eyes as she said, "I may be _your _boss, Peter Ross, but I leave the political side of your life up to you."

"Yes m', you does," Pete said, "and I _shore_ does appreciates it."

Charisse tried to be mad at her husband, but her glare quickly turned into a smile. "Clark, Step 'n' Fetchit over here is about to get a size seven in his behind if he doesn't knock it off."

Wanting to show his appreciation, too, Clark said, "Pete, I'd like to thank you for arranging my visit to Smallville this weekend. Without your unwanted, but very much appreciated interference, I'd still be in Metropolis…living, but never truly _alive._ I have you to thank for that."

Pete shrugged his shoulders and said, "So, you figured that out did you? When your first reply said you weren't coming to this reunion either, I decided to do something about it."

"But not just you, right? I mean, Lana put you up to it, didn't she?"

"Umm…actually, no. Lana wanted you to come home, but leaning on me to make it happen is not something I would ever have expected from her. No, _that _kind of thinking is something I'd expect from someone on your end of things in Metropolis."

Clark thought for a second, his mind shying away from the obvious solution, until he gave in and asked, "Lois Lane?"

"The one and only. She called my office under the pretense of asking for a quote for an article she was writing. Once she got me on the line, she said she knew you and I were old friends and that you were stressing out. She had learned you were going to ditch the reunion once again and asked me to do something about it, saying you needed 'time away from Metropolis to decompress.' I had missed you and I knew Lana would die to have a chance to lay eyes on you again, so I did it."

_Lois…that sneaky so and so, _Clark thought, _I don't know whether to kiss her in thanks or wind her up in a knot like a pretzel for butting into my affairs._

After making a quick stop at his apartment to change into a suit for the office, he headed to work. Two o'clock in the afternoon found him slipping his Audi into its assigned parking space in The Daily Planet's parking garage. One space over was Lois' white Land Rover. Clark smiled to see it there, gaining comfort from its familiarity. Looking at it, he noted that, as always, the outside was spotless, while the inside was a mess of junk food wrappers.

As he made the short walk to the elevator, he was forcibly struck by the realization that it was the _last _time for him to see her SUV parked there. When the elevator stopped at the top of its run, still five floors short of his newsroom, Clark decided to walk the rest of the way. _This way_, he reasoned, _I might make it to Perry's office unnoticed._

Unfortunately for his plans, someone had called his floor when his Audi entered the parking garage. That gave his co-workers plenty of time to stake out all potential means of entering the newsroom. Lois, being Lois, guessed right and was waiting for him by the stairwell that was closest to Perry's office.

"Where do you think _you're _going, Farm Boy?" she asked.

"Perry's office," Clark replied, "I've got an article to turn in. It's nice to see you, too, Lois. How was your vacation? My trip to Smallhell, as you _usually_ refer to it, was fine." Then, as a smile crept across his face, he allowed that it had been 'more than fine.'

"'More than fine,' huh? Well if you want to talk to Perry before you talk to me, you're going to have to get by me first."

Clark shook his head in amusement, said, "You don't remember very well, do you?" and picked Lois up off of the floor without bending his knees or straining himself in any way. He then rotated his upper body and deposited Lois to one side.

As Clark walked to Perry's office, Lois looked down at her feet and smiled. _All these years later and the farm boy can still make me feel like a schoolgirl…sometimes anyway. _She watched the back of his head as he knocked once and quickly entered Perry's office.

Looking up from a copy of this morning's edition and his attempt to find mistakes, Perry said, "Kent! You're a day and a half late! That article was supposed to be sitting on my desk five minutes after you got here yesterday morning. When an article comes in two days after the event it covers, it's no longer news, it's _olds."_

Clark's smile had grown all during Perry's mini-tirade, something Perry was not used to. When he finished, Perry's eyes narrowed and he asked, "Are you finding this funny, Kent?"

Clark handed over the jump drive he had been holding and, while Perry plugged it into his computer to review the article, Clark pulled out his expense reports and laid them on Perry's desk. Clark closed his briefcase and headed to his desk. Just before he left the room, Perry said, "Here's your jump drive, Kent, I've got the article downloaded already."

Clark waved him off and said, "Keep it as a souvenir, Perry, I don't need it anymore…I quit."

When he left the office, a small crowd of his co-workers was gathered around Perry's office door. Enough of them heard Clark's last statement that it spread across the newsroom like wildfire.

"Quit?" one would say, "Clark Kent can't _quit_._"_

Another could be heard replying, "What did Perry say to make him quit?"

And on and on…

Clark stood there laughing, but not because they were concerned about him quitting, its was because everyone in the crowd was holding an 8x10 blow up of a head-and-shoulders shot of him and Lana in a clinch during the Sunday night dance. The passion evident on both of their faces erased any doubts his co-workers might have had. Clark Kent was in love.

"Just to make it official," Clark said, "so that the winner of the pool can collect his or her winnings, our first date, this time around at least, was on Saturday afternoon, when we attended a school reunion picnic.

"Furthermore, as some of you may have heard, I just quit. I'm returning home to Smallville to finally begin _living _my life. The lady in the picture you all are holding is Lana Lang, soon to become my wife. In that, I am the luckiest man that has ever lived.

"I will not miss Metropolis, or working for The Daily Planet, but I will miss all of you. From the secretaries who kept me on schedule, to the interns who traded lunches with me when I couldn't stomach another corned beef on rye, to the talented writers whose excellent work kept pushing me to be more than I thought I could be, I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Clark then slowly edged his way through the well-wishers all the while giving hugs and cheek kisses to the women and shaking hands with the men. When he finally made it to his desk, he found Lois waiting for him once again.

"Retirement, huh?" she asked, somewhat skeptically.

"From _this_ life for sure," Clark replied, as he looked around the newsroom, "though I may still write. It occurred to me while in Smallville that to honor Chloe, I don't necessarily have to be a reporter…I just have to be the best I can be at whatever I do."

"When I saw the pictures Jimmy brought back, I knew we were going to lose you, Clark. You and Lana have the same passion for each other that you had all those years ago…even with the passage of time, your love remains undimmed. I am so happy that you have finally found each other."

Clark pulled a couple of empty plastic sacks out of his briefcase and began loading his personal effects into them. Photographs, nick-nacks, award plaques…they all went into the bags. Searching through his desk drawers, he did not find much to add to what had come off his desktop. Despite all of the years at this very desk, Clark was surprised when he found out just how little actually belonged to him. So little, in fact, that the second bag remained unopened.

"You'll find someone, Lois. Someone out there will take a peek beneath the 'tough broad' exterior and see the marshmallow inside." Clark overrode Lois' sputtering protests by saying, "The woman who went out of her way to make sure I attended my reunion, where I would be _sure _to meet up with the love of my life, has to have a heart. My only advice, Lo, is to open up to someone, let them see what's inside. In the end, it's the only way to go."

Not knowing what to respond to first, Lois picked on the trivial first. "If that's the kind of advice you give, then don't try to break into the Ann Landers business, Smallville." And then, she acknowledged that she had been the one to push Pete to start the ball rolling. "I've told you before that Lana was involved with your happiness one way or the other. I knew you had to see her, to see if the feelings you once had for each other were still there. Either they _were_ still there, in which case everyone would need to take a step back from you two to avoid being caught in the volcanic eruption of lust that would be sure to follow, or, if the feelings had faded, you could finally move on with your life. You've been miserable for years, Clark, and seeing you that way has been painful for me."

As Clark checked his desk one more time to make sure he had not missed anything, Lois asked, "So, when's the wedding?"

"I don't know yet, but with as long as we've waited already, we're definitely not waiting another six months. I expect to be married inside a month." Eyeing Lois speculatively, Clark said, "That brings me to another point. I'm going to need a best man…or in your case, a best person. Will you be my 'Best Person' and stand up with me at my wedding?"

Caught totally off guard, Lois gasped like she had been punched in the solar plexus. When she saw he was serious, Lois smiled and said, "Sure, Clark, I'd be honored to…just don't give me the wedding rings unless you want them to get lost before the ceremony. Deal?"

"Deal."

**Thursday night - Clark's apartment**

The last of his boxes had been loaded onto the moving truck and his personal items ha been boxed up and stuffed into his Audi. The spacious apartment looked cavernous without anything in it except two warm bodies. Clark took a last look around and was surprised at how few memories he had of the place he had called home for so long. But then, home had only been a place to store his clothes and to sleep.

Walking downstairs with Lois to turn in his keys to the building manager, Clark thanked her for her help and said, "I'll call you about the wedding. I expect it will be a simple affair, so don't go out and buy a couture dress or anything like that."

"Me? Couture? Not likely." Lois looked over at Clark while they were alone in the stairwell and said quietly, "As far as thanks go, none are needed from you, not ever, not for anything you choose to ask for. After all, today is only the smallest repayment on the infinite line of credit that I and the rest of the world owes to Superman."

Clark stopped walking so suddenly that Lois took two more steps before coming to a halt. When she looked back, Clark was just beginning to smile. "You too?" he asked. "How long have you known?"

"Not too long, only the last ten years or so."

"Who else knows?"

"No one that I know of, I don't even think Perry knows." Lois fidgeted with her hands, before finally asking the question that had been on her mind ever since he had returned on Tuesday. "Clark? Is Superman leaving us, too?"

"No. Superman won't be around everyday anymore, he won't be stopping muggings or bank robberies either…but when he's really needed, he will always be there. And for some people, he'll always be just a phone call away."

The End

(Epilogue to come)


	17. Chapter 17

Epilogue

**Friday afternoon - Smallville Stables**

A week and a half had passed since Clark had left The Daily Planet. In the interim, he had moved his belongings to Smallville where they currently took the form of a pile of boxes that were stacked on the floor of Lana's barn. His furniture had already been sold since even Clark knew that nothing from his apartment would go with the décor of Lana's house.

Clark himself had already moved in, but his belongings would have to stay where they were until after the wedding, since Lana was too busy planning the quickie wedding to have time to help decide what of his things would be kept and what would go where. For his part, Clark knew that any decisions he made by himself regarding redecorating while Lana was otherwise occupied would have to be reviewed by her and, likely, redone, so why bother.

Today, Lana had brought him to the Smallville stables for the final preparation for their wedding. They were here to pick out two horses to use for the ceremony. Clark, who had not ridden a horse since he moved away, was somewhat apprehensive about riding again. Not out of fear of injury, obviously, but he was not sure how well he would be able to control a horse. With other people around them during the wedding, that could pose a problem, so he said, "Umm…Lana?"

"Yes, Clark?"

"Are you _sure _this is what you want to do? I mean, we could postpone the wedding for a couple of weeks so I could become a better rider."

"Yes, Clark, this is exactly what I want and if you think I'm waiting even one more _day _to marry you after all the time I've waited already, then you've got a screw loose somewhere." Shooing him off with a rapid backhand flip of her hand, Lana said, "So go pick out a horse already."

Not completely happy with this, Clark walked up and down the stables, looking at the horses, while thinking, _Maybe a nice, slow, and above all, __**gentle**__ horse. The kind of horse that is always called Buttermilk in the movies. I want a horse that is old and bored out of its mind. A horse that is just days away from the glue factory would be just fine with…_

"Today, Clark! If you want to take the horse for a practice ride, you need to make a choice." Suiting her actions to her words, Lana was already having a horse saddled down at the other end of the stable they were in. When she walked down to see what Clark was doing, she found him immobilized with laughter in front of one particular stall. There, on a small brass nameplate next to that stall, was the horse's name: Buttermilk. Lana looked into the stall, and looking back at her was a placid-seeming mare.

"I didn't actually think they'd have a horse by this name," Clark said, "but this has _got_ to be a sign. I'll take this one."

When Clark explained that in the old westerns he used to like to watch with his dad, the gentlest horse always seemed to be named Buttermilk, Lana cracked a smile and said, "Well, _this_ Buttermilk looks positively sleepy. She should be perfect for you."

Quirking an eyebrow at Lana, Clark asked, "And I suppose _you're _going to ride some fire-breathing stallion?"

Lana got a devilish look in her eye as she said, "No. The only stallion I intend to ride tomorrow has fire coming out of his _eyes, _not his mouth."

When the meaning behind Lana's words sank in, Clark's entire face turned a bright red and Lana clapped her hands in delight. "It's nice to see that, with all of the things you have seen and done in your life, you can still be embarrassed. It's soooooo cute!"

"I just keep forgetting you're not _exactly _the Lana I left behind all those years ago, and some of the differences, like you being so forward with me, take me by surprise."

Lana looked back down the stable to make sure the groom was still busy with her horse, and then said, "Well, I'd call that payback, Clark. You can't know how much of a surprise it was for me to be watching a story on the evening news about a train wreck that was narrowly averted by Superman, and then seeing a video of him for the first time and realizing it was _you. _I almost choked to death on the iced tea I was drinking."

Clark smiled faintly and said, "I remember that save. It took too long to slow that train down. That allowed someone to get a video of me with a digital camcorder. It was the first time anyone had gotten anything more than a blurry snapshot of me in the Superman suit."

When the obviously smitten stablehand shyly brought Lana's horse to her, Clark realized that it was larger than his horse which was good since it would put them at eye level as they rode. Lana began familiarizing herself with her chosen horse while the groom readied Buttermilk for Clark. After Buttermilk was saddled, the groom would not let them out of the stable until both of them were wearing a horse-riding helmet.

Finally, helmets properly affixed, Clark and Lana headed their horses out of the stables at a walk. Besides getting Clark used to riding again, this ride also allowed them to make sure there was still an open route to the site of their outdoor wedding, which was under a lone shade tree on a low hill not too far from the stables.

The tree had special significance for them, being the site of their first real date as a couple during their sophomore year in high school. No one else knew that, however, and that was one detail that Clark and Lana intended to keep to themselves. To anyone that asked, they would only say, 'We think it's a picturesque location.'

Being physically gifted, as only a Kryptonian could be, it took very little time before Clark was riding easily with the reins almost forgotten in his hands. One thing became clear to them both once they rode within sight of 'their tree.' The tree, which had been an impressive shade tree twenty-plus years ago, had become even larger, with a broader spread of branches.

With one look at each other, they knew they were having the same thought. They climbed down off of their horses and tied the two sets of reins to a sturdy branch on the other side of the tree's massive trunk. Having secured their transportation, Clark and Lana walked to 'their side' of 'their tree' and cuddled at the base of it, talking of their plans for the future.

By the time they left to return the horses to the Smallville Stables, they had discussed children and the very real need to get started on that right away since women have a decreased chance of having children after age 35. As an alternative to children of their own, they agreed they could adopt if necessary. As Lana put it, "After all, it turned out pretty well for both of us."

Clark had agreed with that, smiling as he remembered his parents. That led him to thoughts of the kind of parents he and Lana would make. He could see her fixing lunches while he got the kids ready and then the both of them walking out to the car and getting the kids settled into car seats for the short drive to school. He could see family vacations, school plays and art shows, dance recitals, first dates, proms, college, and marriages. The marriages would, of course, be followed by grandkids, which Clark was sure he and Lana would spoil rotten.

Lana enjoyed being wrapped in Clark's strong arms as they laid back against the trunk of the tree, but when he fell silent, she asked for his thoughts. As Clark let her in on his hopes for their future, Lana nearly cried. She had similar thoughts of her own, but hearing the man she loved so very deeply articulate them seemed to make them more real, as if she could reach out and touch them.

Beyond children, they had discussed various employment opportunities for Clark in Smallville. Besides ones they already considered like writing for the Ledger or penning Superman's authorized biography, Lana had come up with a new idea: Clark could become certified to teach and could teach Journalism and English at Smallville High if a position opened. She knew for a fact that at least two members of the English department were close to retirement

Unsure if he really wanted to teach, Clark did like the fact that it would help him spend more time with Lana which, to his mind, was always a good thing. For her part, Lana thought Clark would be a natural teacher. His patience and persistence would stand him in good stead, and the fact that he had gone out into the real world and been a huge success as a reporter would give him what the kids refer to as 'cred.'

On the way back to the stables, they practiced riding side-by-side so they would be able to hold hands after they were married. Lana rode with the ease of a born horsewoman and Clark was quickly catching up to her level of comfort. As the stables came into view, Clark said, "I never did learn, what is your horse's name?"

Coloring slightly, Lana said, "Umm…it's…it's Superman."

Clark laughed so hard that he almost spooked Buttermilk.

When Clark's wheezing laughter subsided, Lana said defensively, "I picked him for the same reason you picked Buttermilk, I figured a sign that obvious was too hard to ignore."

"Whatever you say, Lana. I just think it's funny that Superman gets the first ride on our wedding day."

That comment set Clark off again, and Lana, seeing the humor, finally joined in.

**Saturday morning - Lana's house**

Waking up with Clark spooned in behind her was the warmest, safest feeling Lana could possibly imagine. Knowing she would be doing that for the rest of her life gave Lana more joy than she knew how to express.

Having just woken up, she stayed in his embrace and enjoyed the simple pleasure of hearing her man breathe the slow, deep breaths of sleep. It was a pleasure she did not often get to enjoy because Clark tended to wake up before she did. Today, however, she was too excited to stay asleep and, quite frankly, was amazed she had slept at all.

Finally, her Prince Charming woke with an undignified grunt and a forceful exhalation of breath that tickled the side of her neck before making its way to her nose and announcing itself as 'morning breath.' Lana wriggled her nose in distaste at the reminder that his super powers did not include minty morning breath, but she giggled when he dipped his head to nibble on her neck before climbing out of bed and heading for the bathroom.

Once he had scoured his mouth with a toothbrush, he felt human enough to come back out and greet his fiancée properly. Lazily plopping down on the bed next to Lana, who had by now propped her herself up into a sitting position, Clark greeted his soon-to-be wife.

"Good morning, Miss Lang," Clark said.

"Good morning yourself, Mr. Kent," Lana replied. "You'd better get all of the 'Miss Lang' stuff out of your system this morning, because as of tonight, I'll be Mrs. Kent."

Giving her a mock salute, Clark said, "Yes, Ma'am!"

"Where's my morning kiss?"

As Clark leaned in for a kiss, Lana turned to him and opened her mouth. Quick as a wink, Clark slid a Listerine Breath Strip in her mouth, which dissolved almost instantly.

"What the heck was that?" Lana asked.

Clark closed for the kiss and, after finally coming up for air, he said, "A breath strip. You didn't honestly expect me to give you the kind of kiss you so clearly deserve with either one of us having morning breath, did you?"

"Well, _no_. But it was a surprise. What if I had choked?"

"Breath strips dissolve instantly, so there's no chance of choking, and if you _had _managed to choke on the breath strip, I would be right here to save you one more time."

Curious now, Lana asked, "Heimlich?"

"Nope," Clark answered as he grinned, "mouth-to-mouth resuscitation _all the way."_

"Mouth-to-mouth, huh? How good at that are you, Mr. Kent?"

"Well…I think I'm pretty good at it, Miss Lang, but from the tone of your voice, it sounds like I'll have to prove it to you."

Clark rolled over and straddled Lana and they had a makeout session that left them both panting.

"How…was that?" Clark asked, as he gasped for air.

After she collected herself, Lana said, "Oh, I think you've earned a merit badge, but you better save something for tonight. I want to have _something _to look forward to."

Clark stretched just enough to place his mouth at her ear and began whispering.

All Lana could do was fan herself with her hand and say, "Oh my! That's quite some promise. You'd _better _be able to keep it or I'm going to be severely disappointed."

"Don't worry about me, just don't wear yourself out today. As long as you are going to be gone driving here and there getting ready for the wedding, I half expect you to be asleep five minutes after we come home.

"And as far as running all over town to have a facial, get your nails done, have your hair done, etc., I don't really understand it. One hour of work by Evangeline and you looked like a _goddess_ to me when we went to the reunion dance."

"A goddess?" Lana inquired.

"The goddess of my idolatry."

"Paraphrasing Shakespeare? You did learn a few new tricks in the big city, didn't you?"

"You ain't seen nothing yet."

**Saturday afternoon - Smallville Stables**

"Perry is _not_ going to show up for the wedding," Clark said. "That old man is still mad at me for quitting."

"I don't think he's as mad as you believe he is, Clark," Lana said, "and Lois swore she'd get him to show up."

"Lois does _a lot _of swearing. I thought you might have noticed that by now."

"Well, if you're so sure he won't show, how about you putting your money where your mouth is."

"A bet?" Clark asked. "Why would we bet? As soon as we get married, my money is yours anyway."

Lana shifted position on the stall door she was leaning on and said, "You're right about that…how about we bet forfeits?"

"What are forfeits?"

"Simple. The loser has to do anything the winner tells him to. Just one thing for one forfeit, but you can't refuse."

"Tells _him _to do, huh?" Clark asked, "You sound awfully confident there Sweetcheeks."

"I'm so confident that I'm already considering what to do with my prize."

"Okay, it's a deal. On one condition, the forfeit has to be used before sunrise tomorrow. If I _do_ lose, I don't want this thing hanging over me for weeks."

"Okay," Lana said, "you're on."

Clark looked at his watch and, seeing it was time, moved to mount his horse. When Lana followed suit, Clark said, "Do you have any idea how many people have lost money betting that Perry has a heart?"

"I'm not betting on Perry," Lana countered, "I'm betting on _Lois."_

**Saturday late afternoon - 'The Tree'**

A small knot of friends and family, not numbering more than three dozen, waited for Clark and Lana in a small semi-circle a few feet down from the top of the hill. A local judge had been coaxed into performing the ceremony by none other than Congressman Pete Ross.

The assembled onlookers had just caught sight of Clark and Lana making their way toward them. A few minutes more brought the happy couple to the edge of the semi-circle. Lana wheeled Superman around to the left end of the crowd, while Clark nudged Buttermilk to the right end of the line. The sun had just begun to set in earnest and both Clark and Lana smiled to see how well the timing had worked out.

They dismounted with their horses facing each other and, as they walked to meet up in the middle, both of them made a quick visual sweep of the crowd. There, standing near to where Lois waited as Clark's Best Person, was Perry White. Lana did not know him by sight, but when Clark's dazzling smile turned briefly into a mask of disgust, she knew she had won.

To Clark, seeing Perry was like biting into what you thought was an apple and finding out that it was instead a lemon. He quickly recovered and smiled at everyone.

When Clark and Lana met in the middle, Evangeline stepped up behind Lana's left shoulder and Lois took her place behind Clark's right shoulder.

The ceremony was short and to the point. Quickly, the judge came to the vows.

"Clark," the judge said, "as you look at Lana, repeat these words after me."

Following along as the judge read, Clark said, "I, Clark Joseph Kent, take you, Lana Elizabeth Lang, to be my partner in life. Whatever life throws at us, I promise to face it with you, by your side. Your triumphs are my triumphs, your sorrows are my sorrows, and thus will they _ever _be, for as long as we both shall live."

The judge turned to Lana and said, "Lana," the judge said, "as you look at Clark, repeat these words after me."

Just like Clark, Lana followed the judge's words and repeated the vow as read:

"I, Lana Elizabeth Lang, take you, Clark Joseph Kent, to be my husband, my best friend, the father of my children, and my life-long lover. I will never be able to fully express the depths of my love for you, but I vow to spend the rest of my life in the attempt."

After that, the rings were exchanged, and the judge said, "Now, by the power invested in me by the State of Kansas, I do hereby pronounce you Man and Wife." Looking at Clark, she said, "You may kiss your bride."

Clark wasted no time and the two newlyweds were deep in the first kiss of their married life by the time the judge said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Mr. and Mrs. Clark Kent."

The horses had been brought together at the back of the crowd, and the onlookers split down the middle to make way for the happy couple. Someone pressed play on a small CD player that was just loud enough to be heard plainly by all. The song was "Two Less Lonely People" by Air Supply, and it played as Clark and Lana walked through a rain of birdseed to their horses, mounted, and rode back down the hill, side by side, hand in hand, into a blazing sunset.

"Two Less Lonely People" - Air Supply

_I was down my dreams were wearing thin  
When you're lost where do you begin  
My heart always seemed to drift from day to day  
Looking for the love than never came my way_

_Then you smiled and I reached out to you  
I could tell you were lonely too  
One look then it all began for you and me  
The moment that we touched I knew that there would be_

_Two less lonely people in the world  
And it's gonna be fine  
Out of all the people in the world  
I just can't believe you're mine  
In my life where everything was wrong  
Something finally went right  
Now there's two less lonely people  
In the world tonight_

_Just to think what I might have missed  
Looking back how did I exist  
I dreamed, still I never thought I'd come this far  
But miracles come true, I know 'cause here we are  
_

_Two less lonely people in the world  
And it's gonna be fine  
Out of all the people in the world  
I just can't believe you're mine  
In my life where everything was wrong  
Something finally went right  
Now there's two less lonely people  
In the world tonight_


End file.
